Selected costume from Hawick Museum’s collection with a local connection
A new exhibition at Borders Textile Towerhouse showcases a selection of outfits from Hawick Museum’s collection, all with a local connection, and many of which are on display here for the first time.
The costume spans over 100 years, the oldest piece being a striking Victorian dress that would have been worn with a bustle. In contrast, a beaded flapper-style dress on show was so daring in the 1920s that the young Hawick lady who bought it had to take the dress to dances in a bag and change once she got there, as her father disapproved of her wearing it!
Many of the garments were made in Hawick mills, including luxurious cashmere knitwear and a jacquard suit manufactured at Pringle of Scotland for a female office worker there in the 1950s. There is also a tweed coat made a Scoon & Hood for James Scoon’s daughter in the 1960s and fashion drawings for Braemar Knitwear by Alastair Michie,
The exhibition features the London fashion house W & O Marcus Ltd, which had a branch factory in Hawick between 1940 and 1963, making tailored ladieswear. As well as a dress, there are fashion sketches and staff photographs, which will no doubt bring back memories.
The most recent outfit on show is a dress and hat worn by a Maid of Honour to the Colour Bussing at Hawick Common Riding in 1989, highlighting the wide variety of costume from Hawick Museum’s collection which can be seen in this exhibition.
Saturday 27 January – Tuesday 21st May 2024
February & March: Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 10:00-16:00 (closed Tuesday & Sunday)
April: Monday-Saturday 10:00-16:00 (closed Sunday)
The Catwalk, Borders Textile Towerhouse, 1 Tower Knowe, Hawick TD9 9EN
Tel: 01450 377615 Email: textiletowerhouse@LiveBorders1.org.uk
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