Well, it is Boxing Day here in Canada and it is the time of the holiday season where you never quite know what day of the week it is and you always feel like having an appetiser. I will be finishing out Blogmas 2025 strong, though! Over the next week, I will be sharing my highlights and favourites from the year. (And what a year it has been!) Starting with Style File Friday, these are my top 5 fashion history moments of 2025!
My Top 5 Fashion History Moments of 2025
Given that I am me, and I went to eight different exhibitions on my trip to London in November, I was bound to catch quite a bit of fashion history. (Though given that the V&A has so rudely closed the Fashion Gallery, less than I would have liked…) Still, I saw some incredible pieces, and I am grateful I had the chance!
Seeing Marie Antoinette’s personal chemise at the V&A
Although it is quite dark and sombre compared to the rest, I was genuinely taken aback seeing Marie Antoinette’s personal chemise in Marie Antoinette Style. Compared to the other gowns and jewels in the exhibition, the simple chemise seems like it should not be a standout. However, the doomed queen wore this exact chemise in prison before she was beheaded. It seems mind boggling that given how much royal history was destroyed following the French Revolution, that this simple chemise would survive. It is such a personal item, I was actually speechless when I saw it.
Seeing Maggie Smith’s Downton Abbey costume from S1 at the Fashion and Textile Museum
I know that loving Downton Abbey is not a unique trait at all- like many others, it is a go-to period drama for me! Still, seeing some of the costumes from the first season of the show was massive for me. Personally, Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess of Grantham largely makes the show- being able to look at her costume in person and rather close, it felt like a privilege. (I am also just surprised that it wasn’t changed at all for another period drama and still exists as it was used for the show!)
Seeing Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians’ Cartier Tiara at the V&A
Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians is not as well-known as she should be, but this Belgian queen has long been one of my favourites. I did not realise that her tiara was included in the Cartier exhibition at the V&A, and I was thrilled to spot it! The bandeau-style headpiece is as stunning as any (and it was in a room of twenty plus tiaras…), but to see it in person after looking at her portraits so many times… I am very, very happy that it was chosen for the display!
Seeing Audrey Hepburn’s gown from My Fair Lady at the National Portrait Gallery
As I shared in my review of Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World, I was not expecting to see any of Beaton’s costumes in person. Understandably, it is the National Portrait Gallery, and textiles are not entirely in their wheelhouse. However, this gown and a few other items were included, and they made the exhibition. Beaton was exceptionally talented as a costume designer, and to see Hepburn’s gown up close was AMAZING. Not only is it one of my favourite movies, it is one of my favourite costumes. (I wish I had somewhere to wear gowns like this.)
HINT HINT to the V&A or any other textile museum: might I suggest a wider exhibition of Beaton’s costumes??
Seeing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara and the Delhi Durbar Tiara at the King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
As someone in their mid-30s who has followed the British Royal Family since they were ten years old (yes, I was a nerd from an early age…), there was absolutely nothing like seeing the Edwardians exhibition at the King’s Gallery. To see more of Queen Alexandra’s gowns, some of my favourite portraits, it was all incredible.
However, seeing both the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, as well as the Delhi Durbar Tiara- I sincerely do not know how I will ever top it. With some fantastic staging, I was able to enjoy the closer details of each tiara. I was also able to take my time, and truly enjoy them, and it is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments!
What is your favourite fashion history moment from 2025?
Cheers,
The Historian
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