Passion for fashion: the incredible Darnell collection

With more than 9000 garments, the Darnell Collection, stored in the Blue Mountains, spans 250 years of fashion. Bronwyn Phillips meets its owner, Charlotte Smith, and we showcase key pieces.

Doris Darnell was the magical fairy godmother every girl dreams of. Part Auntie Mame, with a dash of Mary Poppins, Doris was a flamboyant woman with a passion for fashion. Her collection took up an entire floor of her Philadelphia townhouse. As a child, Charlotte Smith would visit her godmother and, via fashion, be transported through time. “She’d let me dress up in some of the less precious items,” says Charlotte, whose book about the Darnell Collection, One Enchanted Evening, is out now. Spanning 250 years of fashion, Doris had amassed thousands of items. And more than just clothing and accessories, the collection was as much about the women who owned them. “Doris was very conscious these clothes had someone else’s story attached to it,” says Charlotte.

In 2004, Doris bequeathed the collection to Charlotte. “When it first began arriving at my home I felt overwhelmed,” Charlotte explains. “There were 3500 pieces in 70 boxes, weighing 1200 kilos.” Along with the clothes, shoes and handbags were notebooks in which Doris had meticulously recorded stories about the women who had owned them. Doris told Charlotte she could do whatever she liked with the collection, but “deep down she was hoping I’d take it to the next level,” she says. Since then, Charlotte has built a wardrobe of more than 9000 originals, from Dior to Chanel, Prada and Pucci.

Worth millions, the Darnell Collection is now one of the top private fashion collections in the world. It’s housed in a specialist storage facility and Charlotte’s dream of establishing a private gallery is close to becoming a reality. Pieces also feature in catwalks and are exhibited around the world. Vintage fashion is extremely collectable and snapped up quickly, but

Charlotte says it is worth scouring antique fairs. “There are treasures to be found.”

Doris Darnell was a devout Quaker but had an insatiable appetite for vintage fashion and the stories behind the clothes.