As a child, I used to hate getting dragged around museums and shamfully, my favourite part of a museum visit used to be going to the gift shop and looking at all the overpriced erasers and crappy printed notepads, which I would then beg my mother to buy for me. Thankfully those bratty days have passed and I now don’t need to be bribed by novelty pencils to go into a museum.
However, I don’t think I have curbed my enjoyment of gift shops. Especially if we’re talking about the one in the Victoria & Albert museum. It’s just been re-done up in the main atrium of the museum with high high ceilings and flooded with bright lights which makes everything all the more enticing. It’s not really publicised but the V&A often commission designers to produce one-off products that are exclusive to the shop and the roll call of names is certainly impressive; Hussein Chalayan, Vivienne Westwood, Issey Miyake, Cutler & Gross to name a few.
The V&A shop seems to defy the usual museum gift shop conventions of postcards, lame museum logo-ed stationary and some stale books and I sometimes I even trek over there just to pick out birthday gifts for friends. The online store is a small representation of what’s available in store. Here are some of my picks!
Naturally, with the V&A playing host to some fantastic fashion exhibitions, it has published fashion books of the best sort.
The tape measure is a motif that the V&A have picked up in this suit sleeve bag and in the measuring tape tote.
The V&A have a cool range of trompe d’oeil t-shirts but the pearl necklace one is my fave. I also like the Margaret Laton locket – the pattern was inspired by the embroidery of a jacket of Margaret Laton, wife of the Master of Jewelhouse to King Charles I and Charles II in England.
The Tatty Devine Swarowski chandeliar necklace and the Jean Paul Gaultier pinstripe umbrella are both exclusive designs for the V&A.
How about some crazy sunnies? Very useful for that moment when you wish to break into an Elton John moment.
Have you had any museum fashion scores?
just wanted to say – i adore your fashion blog and i went to the V&A recently to see the sixties exhibition, here’s a rather suitable picture for this blog: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/littlefish/c935332b.jpg
ah the joys of camera phones.
ohhh, how I wish I lived in the UK to go to that museum.
How interesting…didn’t realise the fashion items you can get in museum gift shops.
so funny you should mention this, i was just thinking about this same thing.
i was relatively disappointed with the V&A in general, but i loved the gift shop! i bought several huge stone and glass rings and was very tempted by several of the tape measure pieces. i loved the chandelier necklace and some of the salad-serving-ware they had too, but with the pound/us dollar exchange rate, i just couldn’t justify the costs.
i’ve gotten several beautiful alexis bittar pieces at my local modern museum (the ft. worth modern) and have some walls hangings / rugs that were once vinyl exhibit posters – two ruschas and a jawolensky that get commented on by everyone who comes in to my house
i’m always glad to see when the art doesn’t stop inside the gallery rooms.
My wedding ring came from the Metropolitan Museum store and as I wear it every single day, it’s definitely a fashion score! 🙂
Sonja: That’s so cool! That is one hell of a score from a museum!
Maria: Yes, museum shops are definitely great for homeware too. You get to add some really arty touches to your home without paying top top art showroom prices.