Detail

Today we went on a research trip to the V&A and the National Gallery. It was interesting visiting the V&A as I had seen the fashion section a lot of times before but this time I focused on the victorian era and really tried to look for details in the garments. Seeing the garments for real rather than just in pictures was very helpful for this project. Although I would have found it more interesting to see the construction of the garments, it was good to be able to see the decorative detail on the dresses. I particularly found the bodice detailing fascinating, the delicate lace and ruffles and the fastenings such as the row of covered buttons used I think will be very useful for the project. Noting down these key features using sketches was very helpful, better than the books and internet I had been using as was primary research so I was understanding the details I was seeing rather than just looking at them. I found less useful research at the National Gallery but there were a couple of paintings around the correct era I am looking at. These were interesting as they were someone else's interpretation of the dress code then and many still showed the intense detail in their dress so I could still draw from them. 

Now from this I can go on to collate this research and work from my drawings to generate quick sketches incorporating the details I saw. 

(left: Dress at V&A, Authors Own, 29/1/15)

(right: Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards, http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/ignace-henri-theodore-fantin-latour-mr-and-mrs-edwin-edwards, accessed: 29/1/15)