California By Design

Thankfully the weather in Brisbane took for a cooler turn on the weekend as the Queensland ACG ladies made the trip into the Queensland Art Gallery to see the exhibition California By Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. The exhibition showcases a collection of industrial, architectural, commercial, fashion and craft design from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

It’s a great exhibition that really shows some fantastic aspects of vintage design. My particular favourites were some of the art deco furniture from the 1930s, a floor plan of a 1950s home and of course, the fashion. One piece in particular that grabbed me was a swimsuit and skirt ensemble that when put together work in such a way that they look like one dress. The shirring on the skirt is designed to fit in perfectly with swimsuit. Best of all though, photography (non-flash) was allowed in the exhibition. Which means, I have some photos to share of the pieces on display. Of course, this isn’t everything, but I did get photos of my favourites.

On offer, was a combined lunch and exhibition ticket that we all chose to buy. At the gallery café, we used our coupons for a special themed lunch of wagyu beef burger, fries, aioli and homemade lemonade. It was a delicious lunch and definitely worth buying the package deal if you happened to be going.

 And, as usual, we dressed up for the occasion. The only stipulation I put on attending was to wear something that fit with the range of the exhibition (1930 – 1965). Vintage is actually a wise choice in the heat of the Aussie summer – anything else and we would have passed out from the heat.

Most of our ladies chose 1950s dresses, but I decided to wear a new 1930s dress that I happened to be making for work at the time. The dress is the same design as my grey 30s ballgown, however a more suitable daytime length. It’s made from a jacaranda spot poly blend fabric that I bought a number of years ago with a 1930s dress in mind. I paired it all up with one of my vintage hats and full 30s makeup. I love how the dress turned out though, it drapes so well and I am really happy with the fit. I suspect I will be making more of this pattern in the future.