Artistica Glam-estica

Now I know some of you lot are mid-century buffs and it has come to my attention that a most splendid display of 50's and 60's loveliness is housed for a short time in the Queensland Museum. 

My mother was a devoted wearer of Gwen Gillam's dresses in the 60's before she had babies and gave up a disposable income as women often did back then.

Several of the dresses came to live with me in Brisbane in the 80s and 90s where they were worn to B and S balls and pretentious cocktail parties at Uni. My mother got to wear them to much swankier events at Cloudland and the once elegant City Hall or on swish occasions, the Rainbow Room at Lennons. Brisbane was smaller and less multicultural back then but, oh, what a delightful era!

Whether you are a fashionista or not, it is worth the visit to see the exquisite fabrics and workmanship in these lovely dresses. There are photos of some of the dresses being worn at weddings and even a photo of an anonymous bride in a GG dress. The curators hope she will be identified by a visitor to the exhibition.

If I had somewhere fancy to go these dresses would be just perfect. They transcend fashions and trends to be quite dateless. The women who kept these dresses obviously did not let them be worn by their wanton daughters in later decades. Sorry, Mum!

Looky at Gwen's tin of dressmaking goodies and big scissors. I need to buy a new pair every time I sew because they disappear into craft oblivion here.

Those sequins would be at home on any red carpet.

As the Shrimpton effect influenced fashion, Gwen's dresses and suits became more streamlined and modern, always beautifully made.

In fact one of her suits is on the woman on the right in this now famous photo. She is looking at Jean Shrimpton with a politely fixed expression at the 1965  Melbourne Cup where the glass ceiling on hemlines was shattered forever.

There are some lovely extras too like this menu from the tres elegant Rainbow Room at Lennons. My father still waxes eloquent about a meal he had there in high school when the whole class was shouted dinner there for a wealthy friend's birthday. Check out the 'Chicken Astronaut' and the 'Specialties from the East'. Chow Mein comes in a packet now.
Best of all for me were the accompanying fillums on the wall for your viewing  pleasure. The catwalk shows from the 60's are just divine. Mum says they were all trying to look like Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor. There was also a lovely clip about why you might like to live in Australia in 1964 which, coincidentally, my sister sent me last year.
If you are around these parts do drop in. The show is a cracker!
Do you have any Gwen Gillam in your closet?