Fashion Floor Talks Are Gathering Momentum

By Karen Hughes

The Whanganui Regional Museum will once again exhibit a special item from its extensive fashion and textile collection, as part of the ongoing Outfit of the Month series. The presentation to the public starts with a free lunchtime fashion talk in the Museum.

The monthly fashion talks have been a regular feature at the Museum since March 2021, and continue to gain interest. Last month around 21 people attended the event to learn about the origins of a 1950s jacket-and-dress dancing ensemble. Museum Director, Dr Bronwyn Labrum said, “We’re regularly receiving a nice number of people that can gather around the display case and see the outfit up close.”

Trish Nugent-Lyne shares the hosting of the talks month-about with Senior Curator, Libby Sharpe. Libby said, “The Outfit of the Month exhibitions have helped us to really explore the Museum’s textile collection more deeply. Trish has an expertise and a strong interest in clothing and social history, and this project has sparked my interest in clothing as well.”

“Clothing is a physical expression of people’s lives – how they’ve lived, or what they’ve done. Therefore, through the clothing, we are looking at the person themselves. It’s about finding out about the people and how they lived their lives in our region.”

The Outfit of the Month for April is a delicate early 1900s gown, owned by Mrs Edith Carey who was born in Patea in 1876. It features strips of embroidered net with silk flowers and metal thread leaves, and gun metal bead embellishment.

Collection Manager, Trish Nugent-Lyne said the dress was donated to the Museum by Edith Carey herself; “Edith donated this gown, along with another evening gown and her wedding dress less than a year before she died in 1972, at age 95 years.” Edith Carey’s final years were spent in the Braemar Hospital, Whanganui. She is buried in Aramoho Cemetery.

At 12.15pm on Friday 31st March, Trish Nugent-Lyne will host the informal 15-minute talk about the gown. Entry to the fashion talk is free, no booking is required, and all are welcome – meet in the Atrium. The outfit will then be on display in the Museum for the month of April.

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Founded in 1892, the Whanganui Regional Museum is internationally renowned for its Taonga Māori Collection. Located in Pukenamu Queen’s Park, visitors can view the exceptional creations of tūpuna (ancestors) of Whanganui tāngata whenua (Indigenous people) alongside a changing exhibition programme encompassing a world-class collection of natural and human history, with a regional emphasis. The ground level boutique museum store sells a range of local and Māori jewellery, books, cards, art, and other New Zealand-made gift items.

The Whanganui Regional Museum Trust is an independent legal entity that owns the collection and governs the development of the Museum on behalf of the Whanganui community.

Open to visitors daily from 10.00am to 4.30pm (except Christmas Day and Good Friday), entry to Whanganui Regional Museum is free.

Connect with Whanganui Regional Museum at www.wrm.org.nz or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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