Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the V&A.

Look where I went at the weekend!

It was so good.

I'm so glad I managed to catch it in it's last few days, as I would have been sorry to miss it.

The collection of costumes - both old and new, and over 100 - was just amazing. It was really interesting seeing the progression of costume design through the years...the historical getting more historically accurate, while ever more thought goes into the modern and the types of characters wearing the costumes. By some of the costumes, they had snippets of the script, by others they had quotes from both the actors wearing the costumes and the designers, which added to the intake of information.

Now, onto the costumes themselves.

I wouldn't be able to pick a favourite, though I did love seeing the costumes from the films I grew up watching, the classics, and being so familiar with the costumes themselves, actually seeing them right in front of you was quite special. The amount of detailing on some of the historical costumes that you barely notice when on film... It also shows you how much of a part costume design plays in the making of the film, in making it believable. The audience has to believe the characters had a life before you see them on screen, else it just wouldn't work. It's all those little things that really go into costume design and make a film, a story, work.

There was something for everyone, from Indiana Jones to Eliza Doolittle, from Charlie Chaplin to Elizabeth I. While you weren't able to take pictures of the actual exhibition, here are a few images of some of the costumes on film, that I have seen, in person, ehehe...

Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, 1955.

Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz, 1939.

Keira Knightley, Atonement, 2007.

Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961.

Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady, 1964.

Kate Winslet, Titanic, 1997.

Charlie Chaplin, The Circus, 1928.

Cate Blancett, Elizabeth, 1998.

Meryl Streep, A Series of Unfortunate Events, 2004.

Darth Vader, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980.

So, as you can see, a real selection of costumes, and that's only a small portion of what was there...

I'm so happy I managed to catch it in it's last few days, I really did love it, what an opportunity to see some of the most iconic costumes of all time, and learn a few things along the way!