Activities

You have seen the beautifully bedecked Edwardian Gilded Age women immortalised in John Singer Sargent paintings. Now join us for Part One of this two part series. Discover everything the turn of the century woman needed in her sartorial arsenal to lure a future husband at her debutante ball, or languidly lounge for perhaps her de Laszlo portrait. Our friend, Victoria and Albert museum lecturer Anne Haworth, will review the famous couturiers of the age. Chief among them the House of Worth: the go to destination for the dollar princess hoping to snag a titled spouse as immortalised in the wonderful period novels by Edith Wharton and Henry James. Anne will dazzle us with Worth’s creations famous for their yards of sumptuous fabrics, delicate embroidery and expensive beading. Lesser known designers such as Paquin, Jacques Doucet and the Parisian Callot Soeurs will be revealed in all their decadent yet elegant glory alongside Mayfair’s Lucile and Redfern.

Part two of our series will be late October featuring jewellery designer for Downton Abbey: Andrew Prince. Come on ladies, slip into your satin shoes and don your tiaras. It is time to polish up your fashionista flair Gilded Age style!