Vintage Fashion & Textiles

Marilyn Monroe’s record-breaking ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress, which sold for $1.2m in 1999; Olivier Coutau-Begarie’s two-day sale of 5000 pieces of antique silks tapestries and embroideries from the House of Hamot; the lively vintage fashion fairs held around the country every month – each has its own place in the world of fashion and textile collecting.

Figure of Mercury

Summer scorchers: Trio of big prices blows away August cobwebs

14 August 2023

A usually quiet August was dramatically awakened by a series of sleepers that emerged at three UK regional auction houses.

img_9-2.jpg

Fortnum & Mason fashion comes home

07 August 2023

Luxury fashion discovered in a charity shop is heading to upmarket London retailer Fortnum & Mason.

img_10-1.jpg

Unusual styles at the sharp end: needlework pictures and paper cuts

07 August 2023

Do embroidery and cut-paper pictures count as art? Bidders certainly appreciate their expertise

Vintage pannier dress

Extraordinary 18th century pannier dress stars in our pick of five auction highlights

04 August 2023

ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes an ornate 5ft wide pannier dress that made five times estimate in Gloucestershire.

Henry VIII

Rich tapestries: fundraising plans for historic textiles

25 July 2023

Fundraising is under way at two museums and a third has just finished a lengthy conservation project.

Tapestry

Funds needed to buy Henry VIII tapestry to return it to UK

24 July 2023

A previously lost tapestry, commissioned by Henry VIII for Hampton Court during the turmoil of the English Reformation, is a step closer to returning to the UK for public display.

img_14-1.jpg

Tempting machine that is full of socks appeal

10 July 2023

The Harrison semi-automatic pedestal knitting machine was designed c.1900 for producing rib socks.

img_1-2.jpg

Great price? Of corset is

03 July 2023

Underwear soars above estimate at a Richard Winterton auction

img_98-3.jpg

Nottingham's Lady Bay Vintage fair to open with 40 dealers

19 June 2023

Forty dealers spread across four venues in Nottingham a few minutes walk from each other is the enticing prospect for Mid-century buyers.

img_1-1.jpg

Stitch in time: embroidered sampler makes 35 times estimate in Newcastle

15 May 2023

The best needlework samplers continue to bring prices far above more routine examples.

img_40-3.jpg

Dragons decorate a Qing robe

15 May 2023

This Qing dynasty imperial court robe embroidered with roundels of five clawed dragons on a dark blue ground will feature at Sarasota Estate Auction.

img_83-1.jpg

Well-preserved 18th century costumes fit the bill

08 May 2023

A section of period costume and textiles that featured in a general sale at Thierry de Maigret (24% buyer’s premium) on March 24 produced some notable results for several well-preserved examples of 18th century costume.

img_14-5.jpg

Norman Hartnell designs for a princess emerge at Richard Winterton

01 May 2023

A group of signed drawings by royal fashion designer Norman Hartnell (1901-79) was offered at Richard Winterton (22% buyer’s premium) on February 15.

img_18-1.jpg

Live it up in mock Tudor

01 May 2023

A doublet and hose worn by the Earl of Abergavenny at the coronation of George IV in 1821 came to auction in Nottinghamshire.

img_14-2.jpg

Dressed to impress with a tassel

01 May 2023

The dress tassels pictured here came to auction from the archives of Henry Newbery & Co.

img_14-4.jpg

Pomp and ceremony at Gloucestershire auction as coronation robes go under the hammer

01 May 2023

The reminder of earlier pomp and ceremony from a coronation came courtesy of a recent sale at Gloucestershire auction house Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium).

img_18-4.jpg

Beating the drum for Queen Elizabeth II

01 May 2023

This drum major’s uniform is from the era of Queen Elizabeth II, as indicated by the big, gilded-thread monogram E II R under the crown.

img_42-6.jpg

Pressing engagement in Essex

01 May 2023

The oshi-e technique, meaning ‘pressed picture’, involves folding and pressing scraps of fabric, such as kimono cloth, and washi paper to create an image.

img_14-3.jpg

Items from royal milliner Kate Day appear in the saleroom

01 May 2023

Kate Day, known as the ‘Queen’s Milliner’, made hats for Queen Elizabeth II even before her coronation and continued afterwards.

Freddie Mercury

Superstar Freddie Mercury's private collection to be sold at Sotheby’s this autumn

26 April 2023

From stage costumes, handwritten lyrics and guitars to Victorian paintings, a Faberge clock and Japanese art, the private collection of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946-91) is to be offered in a series of auctions.

Categories

News