Monday, February 27, 2017

A Fashionable Tea Event

On Family Day, I attended the "Hemlines: The Fashion (R)Evolution" exhibit at the Dundas Museum & Archives.

The majority of the 40+ outfits featured in the gallery were originally owned by local Dundas residents. 

These white cotton dresses (circa 1900s) are perfect for a summer tea party.

Capes and coats from the 1900s to 1930s.

"An Outfit for Every Occasion" (1900-1909)
During this decade, it was fashionable and a sign of status to wear different outfits in the morning, early afternoon, late afternoon (the tea gown offered temporary respite from the corsets) and evening. A popular trend was the curved hour-glass silhouette.

"The Terrible Teens" (1910-1915).
Popular trends during the "Terrible Teens" included the "hobble skirt" (the skirt was so narrow that the wearer hobbled while they walked) and the rising hemlines.

"The Rebellious '20s" (1920-1929)
I could picture the ladies from Downton Abbey in these outfits.
A popular '20s trend was the tubular silhouette.

"The Rebellious '20s" (1920-1929)
The drop waist dress was also trendy during the '20s.

"The Shape of Austerity" (1930-1939)
People escaped from the economic hardships brought about by the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the outbreak of World War II by emulating the fashions of the glamorous Hollywood stars.

"Braced for Conflict" (1940-1949)
Rationing of fabric during World War II and the emerging roles of women in the workforce lead to practical and functional clothing in the '40s: shorter hemlines and close-fitting skirts and pants.

"The New Look" (1940-1949) & "Out with the Old" (1950-1959)
In 1947, Christian Dior introduced a new look that emphasized the feminine curves: cinched-in waists and fulled shirts. This hour-glass silhouette dominated the '50s.

"The Youthquake Decade" (1960-1969)
The popular '60s trends included: the "mod look", hippie styles and the mini-skirts.

As part of the free Family Day event, the museum offered light snacks and refreshments.
I was impressed that they used their fancy Royal Winton snack sets for a child-friendly event.

The mini scones with jam and cream were provided by Taylor's Tea Room.

I loved the beautiful teapot!

Round 1: tea and scones

Round 2: tea and cookies

Entertainment was provided by The Hamilton English Country Dancers (not pictured).

What is your favourite fashion trend?


I'm joining the following parties this week:

15 comments:

  1. Wow! Dundas Museum has quite a few interesting outfits and they all look so well kept too. I enjoyed looking at the change in fashions. I like the white cotton dresses in the first photo. They look so cool and pretty. As a child of the 60s I always admired the "mod" patterns on women's clothing. There were A LOT of hippies in Dundas hanging out at the Drive-Thru park! I had a lot of exposure to cutoff jeans, peasant tops and beads. Love the snacking plates that were brought out. A nice gesture to treat the kids to some special tea wares too. I notice you're only showing Round 1 and 2 of your treats ... ha ha!
    Wendy

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  2. Fun look at fashion thru the years! My favorite would be the white cotton dresses; so feminine. Such a beautiful tea pot and the treats look delicious.
    Have a wonderful day. Mildred

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  3. Hi Margie, that looks like you had a fun day out! I love the photos of the fashion that you posted. Especially the white cotton dresses from the 1900s and the fashion from the 1920s. In both clothes I can see the ladies having lavish and extravagant tea parties.
    It is absolutely wonderful that the museum used their fancy Royal Winton sets to serve the tea and not plastic cups and paper plates. It just shows that it can be done, even though children are around. That's like that did it in the old days as well and "no one died"!
    I have to tell you I really enjoy your tea related posts. They make me want to have tea myself, taking a little moment of quiet for myself or together with my husband. Maybe next weekend again...
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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  4. What a fun event, Margie! I loved seeing the fashions through the years. I would not have liked changing my outfits throughout the day!
    How nice that the Royal Winton snack sets were used. They look like the saucer is built right into the plate. You always share such amazing tea adventures.

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  5. What a fun and fashionable tea event. I'm so glad that we don't have to change so many times a day anymore. It's so time-consuming. The white cotton dresses would be lovely and cool in the summer time.
    I'm impressed that the museum used their china, too. Those sets are so pretty.

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  6. I love the white cotton dresses, Margie. They are totally charming. I wore a lot of minis over the years but believe me when I say, none of them looked like those at the museum. Mine were very pretty and girly; a lot of lace and feminine colours.
    Love that elegant teapot and the RW tea sets are lovely. BTW, we are looking forward to watching DS too next week.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  7. This is fun. I love the elegance of the dresses and the lovely tea. Just the sort of thing I like.
    Amalia
    xo

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  8. Yes. Fashion has a power of revolution which can bring us a new and more comfortable life.
    Thanks for leaving a comment on my post.

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  9. Those snack sets for serving tea and goodies on is adorable. Would love to have one of them :)

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  10. Dear Margie:
    I can't imagine them using those snack sets for this event. There were so many interesting fashions! I so enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. What a super idea for a tea party--a 'fashion' show so to speak. Loved this post and the china also, but I did have to look up where Dundas was. Thank you, Sandi

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  12. Wow, that was an impressive free event with tea! I really enjoyed walking through the fashions with you. And I also can't believe they used those matching snack sets...to easy to break! Thanks for the heads up about the teacup exchange! I've already signed up--now to pick a teacup from my stash or maybe a trip to the thrift stores is in order...hmmm... ;)

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  13. I love those tea plates with their cups. I have something similar that I rescued from the garbage! Can you imagine?!

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  14. Margie, what a lovely event. And I'm so happy they used the good china! I was raised without plastic. My mother always used nice dishes and glasses, all through raising four kids. And there was very little breakage. Children are very capable of learning. There is no need for all this plastic! Anyway ... back to the event. I'm a natural fit for the hourglass decades, so those would be my favorites. I don't like the tubular or drop-waist styles.

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  15. What a fun event, and love those china sets!!

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