Rummage through time for lost dresses of Queen Alexandra

Museum on the look-out for items from the royal wardrobe last seen in a London shop in the Sixties

IF YOU have ever wondered precisely what is lurking in the back of your wardrobe, in suitcases under the bed or stored in the attic for the right day, now may be the time to check.

For among the long-forgotten treasures may be a dress fit for a Queen.

Curators assembling a landmark exhibition of royal clothes have invited members of the public to come forward to help piece together the “jigsaw” of Queens’ dresses lost along the way.

Among them are six dresses once owned by Queen Alexandra known to have been in a London shop for reasons now long forgotten.

They, along with items of clothing given to members of the Royal households, could now be in homes around Britain, sold on or passed through families who may not know their stories. The Fashion Museum in Bath will next year explore the “family tree” of royal fashions, through Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.

With loans from the Royal Collection and many from its own archives, the museum will showcase the stories of how the dresses came to light and how thrifty Queens had them adapted to suit their changing lifestyles. Among the items will be two of the eight dresses offered to the Fashion Museum’s founder in the Sixties. Elly Summers, the curator, said: “In the Sixties, we had a donation of two dresses, both belonging to Queen Alexandra. They were chosen from a selection of eight that were found at an old shop in London called Baroque, which was on Margaret Street.

“Out of these eight dresses, two were chosen to come to the Fashion Museum and we’d love to know what happened to the rest of them. We don’t know how they came to be in the shop so it’s a real mystery. “Because they came to us in the Sixties, museum practice was very different back then and those type of records just weren’t kept.

“Today if somebody brought that in, we’d want to know every detail, but while that would have been discussed then it wasn’t recorded and we’re left with this mysterious jigsaw to try and fit back together.”

She added: “We would love to hear from anybody who has information about other dresses. We’re always keen to to build and add to the stories.” The two Alexandra dresses, a tartan silk dress and a purple silk chiffon, will go on display as examples of the then-Queen as “fashion icon” and trendsetter.

Among the star pieces is her wedding dress, loaned by the Royal Collection Trust and exhibited in its current condition after it was modified post-nuptials into an evening dress as part of her trousseau.

Several of the items are thought to have found their ways to shops such as Baroque after Queen Alexandra adopted mourning dress upon the death of her husband Edward VII in 1910, “Following Alexandra’s death in 1925, many of her dresses were dispersed and even today the whereabouts of many remain a mystery,” said a museum spokesman.

Other highlights include a dress and cape worn by Queen Mary to the wedding of the then-Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten in 1947, a grey silk ball gown worn by the Queen Mother, and Dior dresses from Princess Margaret.

The show opens at the Fashion Museum Bath on Feb 2, 2018 and runs until April 28, 2019.