Fashion & Style
Uncover London’s evolving styles and trailblazing designers through these objects, stories and blogs.
Blogs-And-Stories

Something blue: The 1920s wedding dress that changed colour
Theories, investigations and the dress colour conundrum

Inside 'The Vegetable Kingdom': From India to London
Una Maw's Vegetable Kingdom dolls: Blending Indian fabrics and British wit

Women's fashion in 1920s London: Going out!
Delve into the wardrobes of the fashionable woman in the 1920s

The mystery of the female Beefeater dress
Who wore this Beefeater dress by designer Colin Wild?

Strange & delightful dolls in our collection
Featuring headless puppets, the ever-stylish Sindy and a 300-year-old doll with human hair

Marvellous moustaches & brilliant beards from the London Collection
Need ideas for your Movember look?

Pointy shoes & sexuality in medieval London
How some extremely elongated footwear caused controversy in the capital

Fashionable eveningwear in 1930s London
Delve into the evening wardrobes of the fashionable woman in the 1930s

‘Mermaid slinkiness’ in 1930s’ London fashion
Hemlines, silhouettes and coquettishly tip-tilted hats

London’s ‘tiniest’ dragon & medieval fashion laws
What does a tiny medieval dragon belt-mount say about London’s fashion, social status and laws

David Sassoon: Making London fashionable
We unpack the glamourous world of Bellville Sassoon and celebrate David’s contribution to London as a Fashion City

Anna Pavlova's Swan costume & the evolution of tutus
Deconstructing the complex artistry behind Anna Pavlova’s most famous tutu

Anna Pavlova’s ballet costumes
The clothes, shoes and accessories this ballet superstar wore onstage

Summer style at Wimbledon 1960
Bob Collins’ photos of London’s famous tennis tournament

The Forty Elephants: South London’s supreme shoplifters
How an all-women clan of career criminals hounded West End department stores

Katharine Hamnett shaped the style of the 1980s
Oversized silhouettes, worn-in denim, political slogans – Hamnett’s designs drove a new London look

Norman Hartnell: Couturier to queens & stars
The south Londoner who brought a theatrical flair to high-end fashion design

London’s fashion designers
Vivienne Westwood, Mary Quant and the many other talents that make London a fashion capital