National Museum of Costume facts for kids
Shambellie House Museum of Costume
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| Established | 1982 |
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| Dissolved | 2013 |
| Location | New Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland |
The National Museum of Costume was a special place in New Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was part of the National Museums of Scotland. The museum opened its doors in 1982.
It was located in a beautiful old house called Shambellie House. The museum showed visitors what fashion and wealthy lifestyles were like from the 1850s to the 1950s. The clothes were displayed in rooms that looked like real homes. In January 2013, the museum closed its doors for good.
Contents
Building Shambellie House
Shambellie House is a large Victorian country house. It was designed by a Scottish architect named David Bryce in 1856. He built it for the Stewart family.
Later, in 1976, Charles W. Stewart gave his amazing collection of costumes to the Royal Scottish Museum. He also gave Shambellie House to the government. This is how the museum started.
Exploring the Rooms
Each room in Shambellie House showed clothes from different time periods. They were set up for different events. You could also see paintings of the Stewart family around the house.
The Dining Room
Imagine a summer evening party in 1895. That's the scene you would have seen in the dining room. The lady and gentleman of the house were dressed in fancy evening clothes. They were ready to welcome their guests. A cold meal was already set out.
You could see beautiful evening dresses. There was even a black satin mourning dress. This showed how people dressed when they were sad about someone who had passed away. Victorian society had strict rules for mourning clothes.
The Drawing Room
The drawing room showed a scene from May 1945. This was when World War II was ending. People in the house and a visitor were excitedly listening to the news on the radio.
During the war, there wasn't much fabric. So, the "Utility Scheme" started in 1941. All clothes had a special CC41 symbol. This showed they used only a small amount of fabric. Even tea towels and furniture had this rule! The scheme lasted until 1949.
The saying "Make Do and Mend" was very popular. It encouraged people to fix and reuse old clothes. You could see a child's dress that was made from an adult's old clothes. This was a great example of "Make Do and Mend."
The Library
The library showed a scene from New Year's Eve, 1952. The family was getting ready for a big party called the Hogmanay Ball. They were gathering their bags, gloves, and coats.
You could see lovely evening dresses from the 1950s. One dress was made of black lace with sequins and beads. It was very fancy!
Paintings of the Stewart family hung on the walls. One painting was of Captain William Stewart. Others were of William Craik and his wife, Elizabeth Stewart.
The Hall
The hall of a house was very important. It showed visitors how important and wealthy the owner was. Guests would wait in the hall. This gave them time to look at the paintings and furniture. The owners hoped they would be impressed!
In the hall, there was a tall grandfather clock. There was also a long bench. Photographs of William Stewart, who built the house, and his wife were also on display.
Upstairs Landing
The linen cupboard on the upstairs landing showed household linens. These included tablecloths and towels. There were also lavender bags.
Houses often had strict rules for linen. Items were marked for each room. There were also exact times for changing beds and towels. Laundry was a big job, often done once a week.
Winter curtains were changed for summer ones in the spring. The unused sets were cleaned and stored in cupboards. Lavender bags kept the linens smelling sweet and kept moths away.
The Bedroom
The bedroom showed a day in September 1945. An older woman and her granddaughter were getting ready for a local ball. This ball celebrated the end of the war in Asia.
The grandmother wore a black satin evening dress. It had a typical 1940s style with wide shoulders. New long dresses were hard to buy during the war. So, her dress might have been an old one that was changed.
The granddaughter wore a red velvet dress from 1943. It was made from adult clothing. This was another example of "Make Do and Mend."
The Playroom
The playroom showed an early evening in August 1913. A nanny was looking after the newest baby in the family. Toys and baby things were all around the room. A beautiful wooden rocking horse was in the middle.
The mother was dressed in a fancy day dress from around 1910. It was made of maroon wool. The little boy wore a traditional white summer sailor suit. This style became popular after Prince Edward wore one in 1846.
Room with a View
This room used to be a bedroom. It had the best views in the house. Visitors could see why this spot was chosen for the house. Information about the village of New Abbey was on the walls.
From one window, you could see the ruins of Sweetheart Abbey. On a clear day, you could even see the hills of Cumbria far away. Criffel, a big mountain, could be seen from the other window.
Other rooms nearby showed parts of Charles Stewart's collection. These items didn't fit into the other themed rooms. The theme here was "fancy dress." Fancy dress was very popular for parties in Victorian times.
The Bathroom
The bathroom showed an early morning scene in November 1905. A Paisley shawl was hanging on a towel rail. These shawls were very fashionable until about 1870. By 1905, a beautiful Paisley shawl might still be used in a chilly country house bathroom.
A lady's embroidered cotton nightgown from 1905 was also on display. Her hair was rolled in strips of cotton. This was a popular way to get curly hair back then.
The Sitting Room
The sitting room showed a late summer afternoon in 1882. In Victorian times, the home was a quiet place away from the busy world. Women were expected to make homes cozy and comfortable. They managed servants, budgets, and planned meals.
Pastimes included sewing, embroidery, painting, reading, and playing music. This room showed four figures in clothes from 1873 to the early 1880s. People wore different styles depending on their taste, money, and age.
The dresses showed the "bustle style." This was a way to make the back of the dress look bigger. It used special underwear. A purple silk dress showed new technologies. In the 1850s, the first man-made dyes were invented. Purple was one of the first colors.
A grey silk dress was worn by a Scottish bride in 1873. It was common then to wear colored formal clothes for a wedding. White wedding dresses became popular later, around 1800.
Accessories Room
No outfit is complete without the right accessories! Even a simple dress could look glamorous with the right bag and shoes. Fans and parasols were once very important for well-dressed women.
The decorations on these small items were often amazing. They used expensive and unusual materials. You could see things made with beetle wings, tortoiseshell, ivory, pearls, and feathers from exotic birds.
Fashion Changes Over Time
The way people dressed changed a lot over the years. Fashion today is very different from the styles worn from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s.
From 1850 to 1900
The 1850s were known for crinolines. These were large frames made of whalebone worn under skirts. They made dresses very wide. Crinolines were most popular around 1860. Dresses were made of materials like silk and velvet.
Day dresses were usually dark. Evening dresses were often white. Dresses with flower prints and stripes were also very fashionable. Sleeves became wider, not tight at the wrist.
Later, crinolines went out of style. Women started wearing skirts over smaller frames. Colors also changed to warmer tones like brown and dark red.
In the late 1860s, crinolines disappeared. Bustles became popular in the 1870s. A bustle was worn at the back under petticoats. It made the back of the dress look full. Dresses often had fancy folds at the back.
In the 1880s, the "princess line" was fashionable. This was a dress without a waist seam. Sleeves became close-fitting again. Evening dresses often had short puffed sleeves. Dresses made of two different fabrics and colors were also common. Colors like white, blue, and pink were used, but in the 1880s, colors became stronger.
From 1900 to 1950
Big events like the Boer War (1899–1902), World War I (1914–1918), and World War II (1939–1945) greatly changed fashion in the first half of the 20th century.
At the start of the 1900s, wide skirts were replaced by a slimmer shape. The first hobble skirts appeared. These were tight and often made it hard to walk. This style lasted about five years, ending when World War I began in 1914.
The South African War also influenced fashion. It brought colors like khaki, red, and yellow into women's clothing. These colors were found in traditional African clothes.
The Edwardian era (1901–1910) brought new styles for underwear. People started to see underwear as more attractive. Long coats called "Ulsters" were also popular. In 1909, the "Russian" coat became fashionable. It had a belt and embroidered edges.
World War I changed fashion again. Between 1913 and 1916, the brassiere (bra) was introduced. Evening dresses focused on the chest area. After 1915, skirts became wider and shorter. Jackets and coats looked like army officer tunics. By 1918, the waist and chest were less important. The middle of the body became the focus.
After the war, fashion went back to earlier styles. Skirts became longer, and the hobble skirt returned. Tight, tube-like dresses were also worn. This meant less bulky underwear.
From 1920 to 1930, fashion focused on youth. Girls often flattened their chests and hid their waists. This was the ideal look for a young woman. By 1925, women's clothes became more feminine, especially evening wear. Skirts with flares and ruffles appeared. Skirts also became longer after 1928.
The zip fastener also became important. First used by the U.S. Navy, it appeared in Britain by 1925.
The Great Depression brought back a more feminine ideal. Waistlines were higher, and skirts were longer. Clothes became more complex, creating an elegant shape. Evening wear was very glamorous.
Royal events in the 1930s also influenced fashion. These included royal weddings and coronations. Women who followed fashion wore "Marina hats" and colors like "Jubilee blue" and "Royal purple."
During World War II, women's wardrobes became very simple. In 1942, "utility" clothes were introduced. These included suits, dresses, and coats. Designers created standard patterns for these clothes. They had a special label that looked like a double crescent. These clothes aimed to create a similar style for everyone.
After the war, women wanted clothes that were not like uniforms. They wanted longer skirts and curves. New man-made materials like synthetics and plastics appeared in 1946. Christian Dior created the "New Look" in France.
In 1949, skirts became shorter again. They were about thirteen inches from the ground. The shape was a mix of wide and slim. Many women wore trousers during the war. After the war, they started wearing trousers by choice.
Nylon also appeared in 1946. After the war, people could get nylon from old R.A.F. parachutes. They used it to make blouses, underwear, children's clothes, and curtains.
Museum Closure
Because of money problems, National Museums Scotland announced in January 2013 that the museum would close.
