Bath, home of the Fashion (Museum)

Bath is home to a great Fashion Museum, founded in 1963 by the late Doris Langley Moore OBE, I prefer it to the Zandra Rhodes Fashion & Textile Museum and the part time exhibitions at the V&A. Housed in the grandeur that is the Assembly rooms, the museum sits cleverly in the basement away from natural light. With a rather quaint tea room at the back opening out to a sunny but cold terrace area.

Downstairs you are greeted with the dress of the year, a dress by Antonio Berardi worn by Gwyneth Paltrow, I don't think it's so much of an originality doth, more so a question of ticking as many trend boxes in one outfit.

I think Kate Moss for Topshop certainly had a place, it was I guess a notable moment in fashion when a model became a designer. However I would have liked to have seen a Gareth Pugh or Christopher Kane outfit, or am I missing the point? Is it pushing towards mass consumerism and playing safe or reflecting the changes in fashion. Fortunately credentials reassured me, outfits from Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Paul Smith, Katherine Hammett were all present. The mannequins were of such good quality, hair style, make-up and pose were totally in tune with the time.


The crinoline section was great fun, you were able to try on a corset and skirt frame, uncomfortable but highly amusing. My personal highlight was the dress worn by Queen Victoria, I didn't believe it belonged to her at first, she was so short and portly. There were fine examples of historical dress, scenes and stories from the time to place in context. I would have liked to have seen more of the shoes, hats and bags they had in storage out, a great shame the only had a few displays covering accessories. Also a video projection showing the work of modern designers, old footage of catwalks etc would be beneficial. All in all an excellent day out.

The Perfect (Veggie) Hamburger

When entering Schwartz Brothers I get an instant feeling of nostalgia, not induced by my repeated visits to the venue, but from the images conjured up in my head from reading the children's book - The Perfect Hamburger by Alexander McCall Smith. It has an old school feel, more 80's than 50's with it's McDonalds esque signage and shiny counter. These guys have got the hamburger down, the vegetarian burger something that most joints push aside, here it tastes amazing, the best veggie hamburger around. I ordered a Roadhouse with extra gerkin, which comes with chilli relish, Jess a Blue cheese, it even comes with its own veggie packaging. I'm told the meat ones are pretty good too, which means smiles for the whole crew. Not surprising that there are three f these joints in town, well worth a look in next time you're at the Fashion Museum, Jane Austin Centre, Baths or Spa...

From Bath With Love

When your friend relocates to the buzzing metropolis that is Bath you have two options to face, either bite the bullet spend your Bank Holiday in Bath or vow never to see each other again. Needless to say I found myself wandering aimlessly around the streets of Bath, scouring the charity shops for a provincial bargain, there were none (too many other savvy shoppers), are the days of charity shop bargains slowly dying? Instead, I discovered (with a little local guidance) a shop called 'Appy Daze', after a good hour of second hand jumble sale rummaging (there was a lot to get through) I left £50 lighter, armed with a black leather biker jacket and a heavy silver crucifix, London prices you say, it is a tourist spot. Tired from the morning’s efforts I collapsed in a heap on the grass and woke up drooling, dazed and decidedly tramp like. Alas I never made it to the Fashion Museum, which I'm told is quite good, still there is always next time.