Dress and fashion

The dress collection at Museum of London is internationally re

cognised for its quality and diversity.

From the outset the London Museum collected fashion and clothing as a social record according it the same historical significance as other artefacts of material culture. Provenance and context were valued and the museum was the first in Britain to publish a catalogue of its costume collection in 1933. Clothing and textiles are displayed in themed displays in the Museum’s galleries.

The aims of the dress collection are to

• 
• represent London’s role as a centre for the fashion and clothing industry, from education through to design, production, promotion, retail and wear
•  reflect the diversity of life in London, recording and collecting the clothing of all London’s communities

There are over 24,000 objects in the collection, dating from the Tudor period to the present day. The core of the collection consists of fashionable dress and accessories. The 20th century garments are more diverse and include clothing from a wider range of socio-economic, ethnic and cultural groups.

Key groups of material include:

• 
  
• clothing by London-based designers including Norman Hartnell, Mary Quant and Vivienne Westwood
• material made by London manufacturers, tailors and dressmakers
• fashion and clothing sold in London department stores, chain stores, boutiques and other retail outlets
• sportswear and clothing related to hobbies and London societies
• occupational clothing including household livery, civil and ceremonial uniforms. The Church, the Law, the City and the Court are all represented 
• royal clothing: garments worn by members of the royal family from the time of Charles I to the mid-20th century 
• costume and accessories associated with the theatre and performing arts from the late 18th century to 1970. This includes material related to the theatre, music hall, opera, ballet, circus, cabaret and television
• fancy dress
• textiles manufactured in London, such as silks woven in Spitalfields and printed textiles
• suffrage and other banners
• dolls dating from the late 17th to the late 20th century
• The Harry Matthews Collection of costume and fashion plates consisting of almost 4,000 prints dating from the 16th century to 1829

The costume collection is complemented by holdings of related material in the social and working history, photograph and printed ephemera collections and the library.

Past exhibition

• The London Look: fashion from street to catwalk
• 1920s: The decade that changed London

Archive Visits

You can see around 60 complete outfits and more than 200 accessories dating from the late 16th century to the present day in our Galleries of Modern London. They are free of charge and open every day. Please see our visiting us section for more details.

Full information on the objects on display is available on Collections Online.

Items from the dress & textile collection not on display are held in our store and can be viewed by appointment only. There is a high demand for appointments and you might have to wait 2-3 months for the next available slot. We also have to give preference to students and academic researchers.

We cannot give access to the costume collections at short notice, without an appointment. Please contact the Department of History Collections on 020 7814 5750 to book visit appointments.