A Visit to the Newbridge Museum of Style Icons

Welcome to the 498th Metamorphosis Monday!

I’ve been away the past few days visiting family. As I was thinking about what I might share with you today, I remembered a fascinating stop we made during my trip across Ireland last year. I think it was on the same day we visited Blarney Castle.

As we were heading back to our manor home for the night, we stopped for a little shopping excursion inside the Newbridge Silverware Factory. We saw a lot of beautiful silver wares, but I resisted purchasing anything during that stop.

In a separate area, but attached to the factory & store, we viewed the most unexpected exhibit: the Newbridge Silverware “Icons of Style Museum.” I took a lot of photos inside, too many to share in one post, so there will need to be a Part II, for sure

Newbridge Silverware Style Museum, Ireland

 

On display throughout the museum were clothing and costumes worn by celebrities in movies and/or famous individuals during very important events.

Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons

 

There were so many beautiful dresses and articles of clothing on display, including this pink cocktail dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Audrey Hepburn's Pink Dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's

 

Remember this hat? It was designed by Givenchy and Audrey wore it in the movie, Funny Face as she sings “How Long Has This Been Going On.”

Audrey Hepburn's Hat from movie, Funny Face

 

This beautiful dress was worn by Princess Diana

Dress Worn by Princess Diana

 

Often displayed beside the item was a photo of the person who wore it. I always feel sad when I see beautiful photos of Princess Diana whose life was way too brief. 🙁 Wish she could be here to see her beautiful grandchildren.

Dress Worn by Princess Diana 2

 

Princess Diana’s Wedding Gown Toile was also on display. Here’s a bit of information about what a Toile is and why it was created for Princess Diana’s wedding dress.

Princess Diana's Wedding Gown Toile

 

This is the actual wedding toile below. It definitely resembles the final dress she wore on her wedding day.

Final Calico Toile for Princess Diana's Wedding Gown

 

A little more information about the process that went into making Princess Diana’s wedding dress.

Info about Princess Diana's Wedding Dress Toile

 

There were so many different types of clothing-costumes on display. This white silk shirt belonged to Michael Jackson and was worn during his performance of the song, Black or White at the Apollo in 2002.

Michael Jackson's Silk Shirt Worn During Performance of Song, Black or White at the Apollo, 2002

 

If you are an Elvis fan, you may remember this red jacket. Elvis wore it and the white t-shirt underneath in the movie, Speedway in 1968.

Elvis Presley's Red Jacket and white t-shirt worn in Movie, Speedway in 1968

 

Can you guess who wore this beautiful yellow dress?

Yellow dress worn by Victoria Beckham

 

Designer Roberto Cavalli, seen in this photo with the Beckhams, designed the dress for Victoria Beckham to wear during a pre-world cup party she and her husband, David hosted in their home in Hertfordshire in 2006.

Victoria Beckham

 

I’m looking forward to sharing more from the Museum of Style Icons soon. Many of the costumes on display are from some of the most iconic movies, just couldn’t fit them all into one post, but will share them soon!

Looking forward to all the great Before and Afters for this week’s Metamorphosis Monday!

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Metamorphosis Monday

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Comments

  1. I wonder if the calico “toile” is the same thing as what we call a “muslin” in the US? It’s used for the same purpose…a mock-up of a garment usually made out of–well, muslin–for adjusting and fitting, before the final garment is made out of expensive fabric.

    • I bet you’re right, Jen! I was wondering about that, too.

    • @Jen: Yes, calico and muslin are the same thing and its name just depends upon which part of the world you are in. It is an unbleached, equal weave ‘n weft cotton fabric that comes in various weights and widths. Whereas, toile means a sample garment that is created for various reasons (style, draping properties, comfort, practise of techniques, etc.) and is most commonly done in haute couture sewing namely to attain an impeccable fit often for a specific client. -Brenda-

  2. Such a fun fashion post. I’m always interested in vintage fashions…thanks for hosting a fun party!

  3. Donna Zoltanski says

    Gorgeous photos! Love Audrey and princess Diana.

  4. Susan, This post is so interesting. I look forward to part II. Diana’s life in part was so sad but she always looked happy with her boys. I have to be honest, I have always thought that her dress was pretty awful but the story behind it is interesting. I follow a fashion blog that after the most recent royal wedding discussed the fashion rules for the royals (including the men). Many of them are dictated by the Queen’s preferences and others are traditions. Quite interesting.

    • I know, I think her dress was pretty fashionable for the 80s, definitely would look very dated today. The thing that always strikes me about that dress when I see it in photos or video, is how big it was. It almost swallowed her up.

  5. Cyndi Raines says

    Enjoyed this. Love seeing anything Audrey or Princess Diana. Hope you are enjoying our northern cooler temps / less humidity while visiting your family. We have lots of sunshine today!

  6. José Luiz Gonzalez de Montenegro Magalhães says

    Merci beaucoup pour les “style Icons” ! C’est toujours assez émouvant lire des articles et voir des photos des femmes qui font partie de l’histoire contemporaine tel que Hepburn et la Princesse Diana !

  7. thanks for hosting another great party. that museum looks super interesting- thanks for the peek! Have a great week. xo- maryjo

  8. I can imagine all the photos as I would have taken soooo many!! I never knew of this museum!

    • I took a lot, too. Unfortunately, I’m working on my little lap top since I’m away from home and it’s so much harder to work on. Be glad to get back to two full-size monitors soon! Thanks, Rose!

  9. Beautiful! The Kimbell Museum in Ft. Worth is doing “Balenciaga in Black” this October — all black Balenciaga originals — dresses, bags, accessories. Should be a really fun exhibit. Looking forward to your next post on style icons!
    Lots and lots of rain here this past week, no doubt headed your way!

  10. Fascinating exhibit, Susan! I always enjoy a beautiful exhibit of textiles, especially if the exhibit includes the person for whom the piece was made. Last year the Houston Museum of Fine Art had an excellent exhibit of Oscar de la Renta. I was so impressed with the simplicity of the sets which included special pieces of furniture or art from the museum’s collection. The vignettes also included photos of the occasion where the famous clients wore the garmet. This exhibit ranked up there with the Giorgio Armani Exhibit at the NY Guggenheim in 2000. Thanks for sharing this, Susan.

    • How interesting! Oscar de la Renta passed away fairly recently, didn’t he? Or, maybe it was a few years back. It is really wonderful when you can see the person for whom it was designed actually wearing it. Love that!

  11. Oh Susan what a gem of an exhibit! Thank you so much for sharing. Regarding Lady Di’s dress I feel it was beautiful for its time, not to mention its elaborate train. As for Kate’s (Duchess of Cambridge) it was gorgeous as well however sadly with the exception of its train, Meghan’s (Duchess of Sussex) dress IMO sadly fell short of Haute Couture standard both in workmanship and fit, though she did make a beautiful bride. -Brenda-

    • I’ll have to go back and look at Meghan’s dress. I can’t remember how it looked now. I remember there were some issues with the fit. Thanks, Brenda! Looking forward to posting all the others from the museum!

    • Susan; that should have read .. ‘sadly with the exception of its veil/train, Meghan’s (—-) dress etc…….’.
      P.S.: I thought I had corrected it, but I was having computer woes and wasn’t even sure if my comment(s) went through okay. Enjoy your visit with your family.

  12. What an unexpected wonderful surprise Susan! Apparently the owner of the museum originally purchased the little black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Charade and thus began the museum. Very interesting and can’t wait to see your next post! Thank you!

  13. To our surprise, we found that museum to be quite interesting. Thanks for Sharing.

  14. Oh Susan,
    that MOSI seems to be a place I’d like to visit, too! Especially because of Diana’s dresses and photos! Love her very much and I still can’t believe fate was so cruel to her!
    Isn’t the miniature of her wedding dress too cute?
    I don’t know if it is purely coincidental that Diana chose what I call a real “Princess/Cinderella” bridal gown, but I am pretty sure a sadder “fairy tale” still has to be written! 🙁

  15. Virginia Lehmann says

    Susan, If you ever make it to northern Illinois you may be interested in stopping at a place in Roscoe called Historic Auto Attractions. Don’t let the name fool you as while there are many historic autos there is a lot of historic fashion. Everything from fashion worn in movies to first ladies and other political figures. And lots of other notable memorabilia. I was overwhelmed when visiting there by the amount of items. And the tour guides, if you want one, are so knowledgeable. A great place to visit.
    http://www.historicautoattractions.com

  16. Susan, you know how I love Tiffany! Fun post.

  17. Susan, I think I lost my comment, if it appears twice please delete…I was noticing this was #498 Met Monday! I was wondering if you were planning on anything for #500 in celebration like you did with TT? That was fun to look back and I’m in need of some blogging inspiration so it would love to put together a post. 😉

    • I was thinking it about that recently. Maybe we could share links to 5-10 of our fave Before and Afters. What do you think about that? 🙂

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