And now for something completely different...

Well, it is actually about sewing but it's just not about me sewing something! Anyway, I spent yesterday afternoon continuing with the grey wool trousers I started a few weeks ago, but got distracted by making a couple of tops. So yesterday I thought I should get on with the trousers as the weather here in Edinburgh is heading towards the chilly, although no frost yet! I've just about finished the outer wool shell of the trousers but have yet to start sewing together the lining. So it's a work in progress but I'm actually enjoying taking my time and completing quite a complicated garment. I'll blog about them when I finish them.

All quiet last week as I went to London for a wee holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but as you know, London is not one of those relaxing holidays! On the trip we went to the V&A and I spotted this garment in their Fashion section-

 What a lovely garment and the label says it's a Christian Dior...but the seam finish inside is really quite poor quality. I was so shocked I had to take a few photos with my iphone and blog about them!

I'm not even aware that the seams were finished at all, the hem had a zig-zag stitch or was pinked, and then hand stitched.

I'm actually really shocked about the quality of the seam finishes given that this would have been quite an expensive garment in its day. You can probably tell how shocked I am!

And I just had to show you this close-up too!

So that's enough of that. We also went to Kensington Palace where they have an exhibition of dresses from the collections of the Queen, Princess Margaret and Diana, called Fashion Rules. There were some really beautiful gowns that realistically I'll never end up wearing anything halfway as nice in my life! The other thing I noticed is that the royal women were/are a lot shorter and generally smaller than my 5'9" frame! The dresses are behind glass and well lit and displayed. Again, I took some photos to blog about-

I loved this purple puritan ensemble just for its weirdness and it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all the other dresses.

But I think my favourite was the Maharajah's outfit complete with turban. What can I say?

Just to prove I was really there, can you see Floral Heaven reflected behind the dress on the left? Just giving Hardy Ames a run for his money by wearing a me-made top! My seams are much better finished than Christian Dior, I can tell you!

The exhibition was included in the price of admission for the palace so I'm not sure if you can visit just the exhibition itself. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the whole palace and seeing lots of other clothes and accessories, including one of Queen Victoria's dresses (she was absolutely tiny!!!).

The beadwork on all these dresses was amazing. I can't think how long it would have taken to sew it all on. More time than I have the patience for!