[LisaMM]

I did the 2 hour drive today to see this highly recommended exhibit, it did not disappoint. Wonderful to see many beautiful dresses up close and personal. To see the beads, fabric and all the beautiful details you don’t normally see. The gold lame dress was a real highlight as was the purple beaded dress she wore when she sang for the troops in Korea. If you’re near Bendigo (Victoria) in the next few weeks be sure to check it out. I’m so glad I did.

[Nicole]

@lisamm We have booked tickets, I am glad to hear this!
Thank you.

[Liesl Gibson]

I hadn’t heard about this–sounds very interesting! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for posting. xo

[Tamara]

It’s a pity it isn’t touring😕

[LisaMM]

I believe it’s a one off exhibition. A collaboration between Fox studios and a few different private collectors. The Director is very well connected and has had some amazing exhibitions. Nicole – the art gallery cafe has a great lunch menu, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you enjoy it too.
The National gallery in Melbourne is currently showing 200 years of Australian fashion. It’s next on my list.

[Tamara]

Would love to go but I’m in the west so it would be a hefty drive. Had the season been much better for us last year, we would have been able to plan a trip to Victoria to visit family and look around. I hope there will be something as equally fantastic in the future so we might be able to “take a jaunt” out there and look.

[Nicole]

We love our food @lisamm Thank you for the suggestion. My Biggies were ‘Smash’ fans so when we saw the exhibition flyer, we booked extra days accommodation so we could see it.

[Nicole]

It was a good as you said it would be @lisamm.

Marilyn was tiny!

She looked to be so curvaceous in her movies but it must have been her tiny waist over emphasising her bust and hips.

Tildy was enthralled with the movie clips, Hugo devoured all the written memorabilia and Liddy, Zara and Elsie swooned over the clothes.

I was amazed at how ‘industrial’ some of the sewing was. Think heavy metal zippers in the back of a delicately beaded bodysuit.

Said bodysuit had so many darts to fit the bust I lost count!

It was worth the five hour drive, I only wish we had had another day to go back and look again.

[Tamara]

So glad you enjoyed it. I read once that Marilyn was a size 16 but then that is not considered tiny! But I think if she was tiny how small would Audrey Hepburn have been? And Smash was a great program to watch!

[LisaMM]

Glad you also enjoyed it Nicole! She was tiny, Im sure the sizings have changed since the 50’s! I agree with the industrial part of the costumes, they said that back then costumes were re used and changed for other actresses to save money. In particular that gold lame dress that was there in the glass cabinet was used on several other leading ladies at the time. At least they have been able to preserve what’s left of it. I really loved that beaded dress and jacket she wore to South Korea, classic and beautiful even now. Have you been to the NGV to see 200 years of Australian fashion? That’s my next outing..