It’s time for fashion, tea, and a crown (we are the Burnout Queens after all).
Our day trip to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum was first class all the way…from first-class train tickets, to a classy tea in the member’s room of the V&A (ah the perks of membership: private, good food, and immaculate table service).
Who doesn’t love fashion of some kind? Well, Dr T & Dr B took a whimsical trip down memory lane when we visited the Mary Quant exhibition. You weren’t a woman of the 60’s without owning something that showed that iconic little black and white logo.
Oh look, her makeup, oh look her fab jumper dresses, oh look the leggings and stockings!!!
Oh goodness we used to look and dress like this! It’s a little disconcerting when you recognise your old wardrobe on display for a vintage exhibition!
We had hoped to take in the Dior Exhibit but the lineup was so long and the wait so hot that we decided to visit the newly refurbished Jewellery Gallery instead. In this instance Plan B did not disappoint because there is bling, bling and more bling from Byzantian jewels to Cartier crowns all in the same room! Everything is stunning and the older the piece, the more decorative and gorgeous. This broach is a ‘chest plate’ for a woman’s bodice (can you imagine the dress), but the special glory of the gallery was Queen Victoria’s sapphire and diamond coronet, commissioned and designed by Prince Albert (there really aren’t adequate words).
Even the entrance to the V&A Museum is grand indeed. We always stop to marvel at the sight of Chihuly’s blown-glass chandelier cascading into a rotunda of marble sculptures. It never gets old, even when everything ‘is’ old.
Sometimes you just have to take a day to wander the museum and discover things you didn’t know existed…like the displays of the little biscuit tins that are precious and adorable. We’ve lost count of our visits to the V&A and we still haven’t seen all the floors and displays! You could get gloriously lost for weeks.
Before we go, we just had to share the full, behind-the-scenes story of Queen Victoria’s tiara. The video is so delightful you will think you had been exploring with us.
Then it was back on the train, happily rolling home and very grateful for those first-class seats! Here’s to first-class delight and enjoyment!
Until our next adventure….
