Me: Come on. Let’s not waste today. Let’s get out of the house. Let’s go and see something different.
Him: But mum, I just want to stay home watching YouTube videos and playing computer games.
Me: Nope. Not an option.
My husband bought me a membership to the Victoria and Albert Museum last Christmas. It gave me free entry into all the exhibitions and I was eager to see the exhibition of Mary Quant’s work — even with a rather reluctant teenage son.
Mary Quant was an English fashion designer responsible for the mini skirt and hot pants in the 1960s.
Born to Welsh teachers, she was encouraged to go into teaching. Instead she enrolled to study art and by 1955, opened her first shop “Bazaar” on the corner of Kings Road and Markham Square in Chelsea.
The exhibition was beautiful.
Me: These clothes are exquisite, don’t you think?
Him: Yeah, well, fashion… meh…
I wish I could have told our son about the revolution that was happening in post-war Britain. Fashion was just one way this rapid change was expressing itself.
But I kept quiet. I was just happy he obliged his mum and came along.
It was the first time fashion went from the hands of the elite to the high street. It became democratised. The world had not seen its like before and Mary Quant was one of the designers leading that change.
I’m not sure our son would have understood or cared.
To him, clothes are something that keeps you warm and protects you from the elements. When he was younger he’d often come to breakfast dressed entirely in different shades of blue or with mismatched colours and odd socks.
“What?” he’d ask as we’d stare at him.
“Oh no. We love you son. We are not going to let you get out of the house like that,” we’d explain.
“This is so stupid,” he’d go back to his bedroom annoyed. His father or I would follow him to help.
Unlike our son, I like the way shapes and colours come together.
From clothes to paintings, I enjoy how people choose to express who they are and what gives them joy.
They are more than mere things to impress others.
I can’t help being intrigued by ideas and seeing how they express themselves in different ways.
“Ha!” my son laughed as we went through the exhibition. He quickly snapped a photo of it.
It was a red lobster on a leash.
Nice to know he found something interesting after all.
Nomad Online 
14 responses to “At the Mary Quant Exhibition”
This made me smile 🙂 🙂 I lived in London in those days and spent my meagre wages at Biba and lived on Wimpy’s. I had a cape coat of which I was inordinately fond, just like Twiggy’s. Cell phones hadn’t even been thought of! He sounds a lovely son.
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Brilliant! seems like it was an amazing time. Here’s to fantastic cape coats and Twiggy!
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🙂 🙂
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Great pics! I am waiting for the fast fashion craze of the last couple decades to die. I’d be happy with just a few, high-quality pieces, but find that the brands I used to turn to for good quality (and that still make good quality men’s clothes) have succumbed to the throwaway fashion trend. Fashion that really means something–I can get behind that. Seems like a cool exhibit, tho my boys would have been terribly bored, too.
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Thanks Rebecca! I agree. A few good pieces are ideal. Unfortunately, I sometimes fall for the price and style of some fast fashion houses. I do feel a bit guilty about it when I do.
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I used to do a bit of thrift store/consignment shopping but haven’t in a long time–a good way to find fun stuff without the guilt. My mom used to read all those “dress like a French lady” books that were popular in the 80s and I think that rubbed off on me. But I wouldn’t even know if the timeless image I have in my head is how French women dress anymore! I bet you see some beautiful clothes in London!
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Indeed! I do enjoy going on a vintage clothing hunt. Unfortunately, I find many are made for smaller sizes. I do see some beautiful clothes. And some lovely pieces that have been put together wonderfully. They look like they’ve just been thrown on, but there’s a quality that catches my eye. Have been known to stare at random men and women. There’s a rabbit hole right there!
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😃
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That’s great… while your son might have been reluctant to go, you are creating wonderful memories for him.
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Thank you. I’ll make sure I remind him about that!
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Fashion… “Meh”!? Some of the most beautiful performances I’ve ever seen were at fashion shows. Really! They’re not just the runway walks for big corporate designers that get shown on the evening news. Among the best ever have been a couple of Usaato shows for ethically-produced silk clothing… and they even used some of the attendees, including several kids, as models.
No lobsters, though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Exactly! 😁 I’ve only ever seen the snippets on the evening news, but they looked beautiful.
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Ah yes, I have fond memories of mini skirts and hot pants. Those were the days!
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Hehe!
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