Anyways, if you see a kind of black netting in front of the pictures, please do not adjust your screen because the museum did put up fine black netting in front of the costumes to protect them from curious onlookers I guess... Also, the lighting was pretty dark so if you can't see as much detail as you want, well, next time... go to catch this type of exhibit in person...
Most of the gowns and costumes are for film, theatre and opera, therefore they appear exaggerated. However, I am pretty sure that SOME of the outfits at least are true to historical record :P I'll let you know which ones when you come to them.
The following picture shows gowns that I think are pretty close to the ones worn by women from the 1800s on till the early 20th century.
The following outfits are for the Greek tragedy "Phedre". Apparently they were designed beautifully because the actors had to be on stage for the entire play, even if they were standing in the background. In terms of richness of the fabric and complexity of the costumes, they sort of remind me of Francis Ford Coppela's "Dracula" where he spent most of his budget on fabulous costumes for the actors. Unfortunately, all he got for that movie was a very memorable soundtrack, a song by Annie Lennox and an Oscar for best costume design. :P The movie itself was ... Ok-ay... but not as fabulous as the costumes that were in it.
For the guys who watched that very very LONG play which was featured in the semi-finals with The Shark's "Vampire Monologues"... "Phedre" was the Greek tragedy that the uber long romance was based on.
For some reason, when I saw the following gown with the hooded cape, it reminded me of what Marie de Medici wore in 1622 to a christening. Marie's dress was studded with 3000 diamonds and 39 000 pearls. Today that same dress is valued at around USD 9.75 million or SGD 14.2 million, and for the longest time, was the most expensive dress ever made, although... I think I have read a higher valuation figure in some other historical sources.
According to one of the museum guides, the actress who wore this burgundy gown loved it so much, she had Christian Lacroix make her an exact replica for her wedding. Apparently, her husband-to-be first saw her in this dress at the play and was so taken in by her appearance on stage that it became a case of "love at first sight"... I never knew a dress could be so pivotal in finding a lifetime of happiness... oh well... if only stories like that are true today.
I was particularly impressed by the men's outfits in this particular collection. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite so beautiful.
The following are some additional exhibits that were featured in some old time movie musicals.
Amazingly in the following picture, this shape of gown was actually worn by women... possibly in the late baroque or rococo period. I have seen similar examples when I was travelling around in Europe some years ago. The ladies get through doors by going in sideways and yeah, once one of those ladies sit on a couch, I don't think you can actually sit beside her. It sort of makes me wonder how gentlemen of that era dated.
Some more costumes from the movies.
The following gown is absolutely beautiful, I tend to think of it as the Tinkerbell gown. However, I think the lady wearing this gown should be on the skinny side. The high waist and cut of the outfit does tend to put a few pounds on the wearer.
And that's it folks. There were a lot of other pieces in this exhibit, but I think these were probably the most outstanding of the lot. It was certainly something worth going to.
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