These dresses may have survived precisely because they were so tiny and therefore difficult to be handed down or made over. The same is true of old sample shoes which were too small to be worn by most women.

I love this subject matter, I'd love a whole series of these videos examining the different dresses in the V&A collection

Please do more videos showing off your exhibits and inventory up close! It's such a treat for those of us, who can't afford to travel and visit amazing museums in other countries.

Claire Allen-Gladstone is a dream presenter. It's a pleasure to listen to her. I would love as many of these episodes as she's willing to make.

I never realized edwardian gowns/shirts were made with so many little pieces of different types of lace!

Ms. Allen-Johnstone is so articulate - informative, clear, interesting. Well done!

I also cant help but notice the ascending height of the dresses - all has very small waists, but the overall height and upper body size increased too. Most people dont know that by the 1830' to 1850's or so, people were the shortest they had been since the Tudor period, and only matched in the dark ages (post Roman occupation but pre 1066). On overage by the tudor and early to mid 1600's, this period saw the average height to be similar of the early 20th C, but gradually declining to the point where by the 1830's, people were the shortest they had ever been. Heights began to increase int he late Victorian and Edwardian period, and continued thru to modern day. Its a stark contrast here with these three dresses andd altho they are isolated examples, this does represent a known trend in human variability over the centuries.

the yellow dress is just GORGEOUS

You could make this a weekly series and I would watch as I'm sure others would as well. This was fascinating and the curator was interesting and lovely to listen to.

This was so well done! The dresses are beautiful, and I learned so much from the commentary.

The caliber of these videos from V&A is unparalleled! Just so incredibly well done, informative and thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you. 👏👏👏👏👏

Wow dress number 2 is a dream!

Fashion history is one of my favorite things to learn about. Please do more videos about the clothing that you have in your museum. When I visited the V&A some years ago my favorite section was the clothing exhibit.

That Edwardian day dress is so beautiful I very nearly cried.

I would cheerfully listen to any aspect of fashion/garment history Curator Claire cares to discuss: she is knowledgeable, well-spoken and forthright about the problematic history of some garments' content or manufacture. The dresses themselves are wonderful, even without her commentary. And do you notice how incredibly petite the women of those earlier centuries were? Great programme, look forward to many more.

The 1930s Charles James piece is stunning.

The edwardian dress is breathtaking. I hope this style comes back. Its so elegant and feminine.

It never ceases to amaze me how small people were. She looks like a giant standing next to those dresses!

Love the classic gowns. Quite special to see that Charles James gown. His vision were simply contemporary, pretty much ahead of his time. It seems contradicting of those exsisted within the sameness era, but still retain the essence of the whole look

The V&A fashion collection is huge that only a small amount is on display at any one time. I saw the brown cotton wedding dress in 1965 displayed along with other wedding dresses in various colours, many of them dark.

Charles James! THE master of structure and form. 💖

I loved this video, very interesting and illustrative ✨🌻🧡 Plus, still has that ASMR tone so needed nowadays 🪻Please, do more of this 🌸

My favourite museum in London, and completely free! Thank you

More please. Really fantastic presenter. Very very thankful to see the references to the colonial provenance of the pieces - an important step to revealing the true histories of objects

Such beautiful dresses. I've always been fascinated by women's clothing from these time periods. I'd love to be able to try them on for at least a day. It's absolutely crazy how a single person influenced wedding attire and set the cultural norm for centuries to come. I reallyyy wish colored wedding dresses would come back into fashion in the West. I'd so love to see more variety, and just think how gorgeous it'd look.

When I saw the thumbnail for this video, I immediately assumed the 1930’s dress was a ballet costume. I had forgotten that initial impression until she said it was called La Sylphide. At which point my inner dialogue responds with, “obviously!”. Speaking of ballet, and underwear as outerwear, those arm puffs from the first dress are a mainstay of the classic ballet tutu since the 1830’s. Which is itself a take on underwear as outerwear. I never realized until this moment just how risqué the early images of the ballerina were. The ballet La Sylphide, the very work that introduced that aesthetic to the art of ballet premiered in the year 1832.

Fabulous! Long enough to learn something, short enough to keep one’s attention. Thank you!

Wonderful video. The V&A always does such a wonderful job!

The yellow Charles James dress is gorgeous, as is his Four Leaf Clover dress. It was a bit shocking when the camera panned out, and I saw how tiny the brown dress is. I'm guessing that Ms Allen-Johnstone is of average height (by seeing her standing next to the yellow dress), so whoever wore that wedding dress must have been 5', at the most.

These are so gorgeous and just fascinating amd so well presented by Claire. I find myself wishing I could see the movement of the Charles James dress with that hemine, sigh.

Fantastic series, I hope it continues and we get to see more pieces from the collections. I'd also be so excited to see children and men's wear!

I love seeing these dresses in detail and getting the historical context of each, thank you for this video and more please!

I love the description of “frothy” for the Edwardian dress

Stunningly beautiful examples from their eras, thank you!

I do so love Charles James designs.

Best age of fashion tbh. So expressive

I have my mothers wedding dress which is now 80 years old. It was bought from a department store in London called Bourne and Hollingsworth in Oxford Street. It was a beautiful store to visit but is long gone.

The Smocking alone is incredible! You learn so much from these wonderfully written documentaries. Anyone who's into clothes as much as I am would just love this series!

Amazing - thank you for posting! 🙂

When I watched the yellow dress, I immediately recalled Aurora 😄👍🏼 Very interesting video, I liked all three gowns. Thanks

I knew if sorted the comments I'd find someone upset by it being pointed out that slavery played a major role in the creation of the "riches" generated in the industrial revolution. it should be pointed out that slavery is not dead yet and is exploited by wealthy corporations and individuals to maintain the "profitability" of their enterprises.

More historical fashion videos like this, please!!

It's so refreshing to see this from the V&A after seeing so many videos from other channels on fashion "history" with no cited sources or extant garments 😅

Perfection in all aspects! Thank you for the lovely, engaging yet informative presentation. Please, more of the same. Perhaps in ten year segments.

Superb video! I love reading 19th and 20th century British novels so this is giving me lots of insight into what the women in those novels would be wearing.

Absolutely fascinating. It’s history told through fashion - and through such beautiful items.

With that first dress, the print actually looks quite modern up close

Love this. Thank you for wonderful narration.

Wonderful presentation. Please consider a selection from 1880's, 1900's and 1920's. Thank you.

This was wonderful, more please!

Lovely!!! I'd love to see more of these.

So entusiast . The curator Is genial .

This is very interesting. The different dresses speak volume about the different eras.

Wonderful content, thank you so much!

Loved this - so fascinating learning about the different styles and changes to fashion over the years. All gorgeous 😍

How interesting to learn about Paisley!

I want to wear dresses like that! 😍

The last one is my favourite!! soo pretty 😍

Love these videos ❤

Whoever wore the first two dresses were pretty short! Thanks for the interesting video!

Wonderful content; beautiful and informative

What I find incredible is, seeing the dresses lined up chronologically, including the narrator, how much taller we as humans have grown in 200 years.

I ABSOLUTELY love the paisley print on the first dress and could see myself wearing that if I was from that time.

Yes, fashion of the early 30s was quite different to the late 30s.

Very interesting content! For contrast, is Claire Allen-Johnstone quite tall, or were the dresses worn by very short women?

we've lost so much. Beauty, grace, feminity, craftmanschip and knowledge.

I love the shape of the Brown dress!! Stunning!!

❤thank you for sharing your knowledge of the history and intricacies of making these beautiful dresses. 👏🏾🌹I love your teaching style!

So fascinating…all fashion..

Excellent presentation! However, I have a question about the provenance of the cotton textile used in the creation of the paisley fabric of the first dress. I understand India has been in the cotton trade since the 1600’s. In fact, Ghandi himself spun cotton. You mention the enslaved in the US having a hand in this cotton textile creation; I would like to question this. Since the dress was created in the UK, and the UK had not only the East India Company but British rule over India at the time, this textile more than likely came from cotton in India, as did many pashmina shawls, both authentic and faux. Is this a possibility? Thank you.

So fascinating, please let us have more videos like this. I'd like to see as many of the dresses as possible from the V&A collection. In fact, after the Dior and Chanel exhibitions, why not one showcasing the wonderful exhibits stored behind the scenes in the V&A, the ones they don't have space to keep on permanent display?

Thank you for a very informing and intersting explanation of this. Very well done thank you

I love Charles James's Creations they are amazing

So love this!!! Thank you so much🎉

all three are fabulous in their own right💜

Lovely video great information, thank you.🌹

The yellow is so precious and will be beautiful in any era. This is why is a piece of art itself.

Was the sewing the person in usual? Would they be cut out daily and then re sewed in if worn again

Great video, thank you. ❤

It kills me I'll never get to visit here! So many treasures!

I would 100% wear dresses 1 & 3 in different colors. Dress 2 is a pass from me... lace is pretty, but it's super impractical & catches on stupid stuff (including drawer handles, door latches, not to mention cats' claws). Anyway, white & fluffy looks hideous on me. I love that she presented us with some of the history, too, even recognizing there can be problematic history for clothing items!

For scale, I'd love to know how tall Ms. Allen-Johnstone is. The 1830 gown is for a much shorter woman.

I thought the waist piece on the third dress was a Swiss Waist, referencing the 19th century fashion to wear a corset-like belt over the dress.

thank you for sharing! reminding me that i have an edwardian dress to fix! (a lit of a later one 1910-1913 ish)

This was so interesting!

I just learned today that the printed cotton fabrics first found their way to Europe from India. At first it was problematic for the European textile market who didn't have such intricate colorstories or motifs. This caused the textiles to be banned at first, but because they were so popular with their long lasting pigments and a softer feel, they were eventually not banned anymore. In France's case, the ban was lifted right as they began producing their own printed cotton.

The white Edwardian dress looks a lot like my wedding dress. My wedding dress was made in approximately 1895-1905

Lovely ❤

The Edwardian dresses are always my favourites. I'd love to know how a dress like that would be cleaned (especially under the arms).

Gorgeous

very interesting ❤

The white dress: your suggestion of a perhaps ill fitting reason for the construction is very unlikely. This technique is still used to this day in the "flou" ateliers of Haute Couture. Its purpose is to support the shape and drape of the very light and soft top fabric without deterring to its delicate look or to its less opaque quality, like one would if one used interfacing or boning (as was done with the high collars of the era made in the same delicate fabric though. I remember my grandmother and my great grandmother showing me these skills when I was still a young child, as they had both worked for some time in Haute Couture before getting married.

Gorgeous 😍🥰

Wonderful content and narration. Just one question: is the narrator a giantess or were the women in the past tiny creatures?

I’d wear and want that first brown dress and a few others from this video! Seamstress were talented to be able to HAND SEW those dresses, wow!!!

Lovely 🌹

💖💕💖💕💖💕 I loved. Thankful 🙏💖

We're there profesional dressmakers in those ages...was it not just very talented women, without recognition making these legendary dresses by hand?

Sorry to ask but are the dresses really petite or the camera is doing some forced perspective?

Very interesting, I would not have guess the third dress was from the 1930s, not what I think of as typical.