The Walker Art Gallery will display more than 70 outfits in a new exhibition which opens this week.
‘An English Lady’s Wardrobe’ explores shopping and style in Liverpool during the interwar years and the exhibition runs from October 25th until March 1st.
Pauline Rushton, Senior Curator at National Museums Liverpool, told JMU Journalism: “The exhibition is focusing on the collection of costumes that were owned by Emily Margaret Tinne, who was the wife of a Liverpool GP.
“He was a member of a sugar merchant family so they had serious money and some of that money went towards the buying of clothes.”
The Walker has displayed items from the collection over recent years, but this will be the largest display yet. In fact, An English Lady’s Wardrobe is the biggest collection of one person’s wardrobe in any UK gallery, with over 750 pieces altogether.
YouTube: Scarlett O’Toole
Ms Rushton told JMU Journalism: “Obviously, we can’t show all of those in this exhibition but, we’ve got something like 73 outfits and then around 100 accessories as well. We’re giving you a flavour of what her wardrobe was like and the kinds of things she bought or had made for herself.”
The showcase will feature day-wear, evening dresses, outdoor wear, underwear and accessories.
The Tinne Collection will also show outfits belonging to Emily Tinne’s children and the family’s servants.
The curator told JMU Journalism: “It’s very difficult to choose what you put into the exhibition because there are things you might have that are your favourite things, or you want to show more than one example of a particular style.”
She added: “We have to think about what condition the object is in and is it telling the story that we want it to show, does it represent the best example of its kind.”
An English Lady’s Wardrobe will look at Liverpool ladies’ outfitters and shops where many of the clothes were purchased.