11 April 2016

Drop Dead Gorgeous: The Fashion for Tuberculosis in 19th Century England

Explore a fascinating aspect of 1840’s fashion from 2pm on Saturday 16 April 2016 when a leading expert discusses the links between beauty, fashion and tuberculosis.

Just like heroin chic in the 1990’s, some followers of fashion shaped their bodies and chose fashion accessories to make themselves look like sufferers of TB – termed ‘TB Chic’.

Join Dr Carolyn Day (Furman University, USA), as she discusses why this was the case, and see a display of historic fashions by costumier Lindsey Holmes, the author of Creating Georgian and Regency Women’s Costumes.

The event is related to the launch of the new Shaping the Body exhibition at the museum, which opened last month.

M Prior, collections facilitator for the museum, said:

“We are delighted that Dr Day is coming to the museum to talk about her exciting and ground-breaking research. Everyone coming to the talk will be able to get up close and personal with dresses and accessories from the 1840s in our object handling session. There will also be a fantastic catwalk show of historic fashions for visitors to see up close.”

Date: Saturday 16 April, 2pm – 4pm.

Price: The talk is £5 per person (museum admission applies).

The fashion show is free with museum admission.

Please book online through Eventbrite here.