Anyone in Hedge End have photos of 1920s dance dresses with beading and metal thread?

Anyone in Hedge End have photos of 1920s dance dresses with beading and metal thread? If so Hampshire County Council would like you to take them along to the exhibition of Art Deco beaded dresses from the ‘roaring twenties’ that opens at the Winchester Discovery Centre on Saturday 20 November.

‘Dazzle’ will feature a ‘spectacular’ collection of over 25 dresses illustrating the elegance, ‘exquisite detail, glamour and design’ that characterises gowns from the 1920s.

On display will be dresses from Hampshire County Council's own collection plus hand-picked items on loan from Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove and Portsmouth City Council Museum.

Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Margaret Snaith-Tempia says of ‘Dazzle’, “This is a wonderful exhibition which will have fashion enthusiasts mesmerised by the quality of workmanship demonstrated in these pieces.

“Thanks are due to the council’s Museum Service who have collected and conserved so many wonderful items over the years and to the Renaissance programme which has funded this exhibition.”

Curator of the exhibition, Kirsty Nutbeen, talks about her favourite pieces: “The black silk ‘peacock’ dress is possibly the most stunning, with its black, white and silver beads arranged like feathers.

“Equally amazing is the pink silk chiffon dress, lavishly decorated in glass bugle beads, pearlised sequins and silver sequins. Their dropped waists, short lengths and exquisite decorations are strikingly iconic of this dramatic era. It’s going to be a joy to share this collection with everyone.”

A silver lamé evening dress with green silk georgette side panels was donated to Hampshire County Council by the Honourable Miss Joane Dutton, one of three sisters of Sir Ralph Dutton who owned Hinton Ampner, six miles from Winchester and now a National Trust house.

Silver lamé was often used for court presentation gowns and the trains subsequently made up into evening dresses, although the one on show in ‘Dazzle’ has a Harvey Nicholls, Knightsbridge label and is thought to have been bought as a party or dance dress in about 1925.

The 'Dazzle' exhibition can be found in The Gallery at Winchester Discovery Centre and will be open from Saturday 20 November until Sunday 16 January.

This is described as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these amazing but fragile pieces’.

So if you do have any photos of dance dresses with beading and metal thread do take them along, but otherwise entry to the exhibition is free and the Discovery Centre in Jewry Street is open Monday to Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday 9am- 5pm, and Sunday 10am - 4pm (closed on public holidays).