Impractical Collection

The Smallest House in England - Wavertree, Lancashire
The Smallest House in England - Wavertree, Liverpool, Lancashire - situated at No. 95 High Street, the house is only 6ft wide and was occupied until 1925

Crinoline Difficulties 1860s
A lady goes to extreme lengths to wear the widest, most fashionable crinoline skirt during the 1860s when the fashion was at its height. Date: 1865-70

Lebanon - Married Druze Woman with Tantour hat
The traditional vertigious tantour hat of a married Druze (a monotheistic religious community) woman of Lebanon (sadly not an example of the popular trend to replicate the landscape of late 19th)

Women and Girls in Rational Dress, 1882
Engraving showing a group of women in types of Rational Dress, shown at the Exhibition of Hygienic Costume, 1882. In the 1880s the Dress Reform Movement

Greek Man in ebullient rich local costume
Greek Man in traditional ebullient rich local costume, featuring silver briads, tassles, daggers white stockings and various medallions and metal plates. Date: circa 1910s

The Perils of High Collar fashion by Fish
Amusing cartoon by Annie Fish showing the fictional Tatler gossip columnist, Eve, struggling with the practicalities of wearing the fashionable high collars of the day

Guillaume IV Hainault
GUILLAUME IV, comte de HAINAULT ruler of the county of Holland 1337-1345. Wearing an amazing assortment of practical armour and impractical footwear and dangling bits and bobs. Date: ? - 1345

Floral Staircase at The Parade, Bridlington, Yorkshire
Floral Staircase at The Parade, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire Date: circa 1920

German Motor Cycle
A German girl from Spreewald rides on the back of a motorcycle in rather impractical tradtional dress! Date: early 1930s

Paper House at Pigeon Cove, Massachusetts
Pigeon Cove, Rockport, Massachusetts - the interior of the Paper House - made entirely of newspapers. Built by Mr. Elis F

Dangerous fashions in the street
The dangers of impractical fashions in the street. The reintroduction of the trained skirt, even for walking dresses, proves inconvenient and possibly fatal! Date: 1871

Crinoline Bus Accident
A lady wearing a large crinoline knocks over a man as she attempts to board a London bus. Two ladies in bonnets look on in amazement. Title: Cause and Effect

Bathing Costume 1899
A highly decorative but thoroughly impractical bathing costume of fine red serge trimmed with silk, braid and fringed edging

FRENCHWOMAN 1780 - 2
Frills and tucks galore on this impractical gown, worn by a lady of Louis XVIs court shortly before the Revolution

Bakst Hobble Skirt
Hobble skirt costume designed & drawn by Bakst & made by Paquin. The skirt is cut-away at the front creating a split to enable the wearer to walk. N.B incongruous ruff

C18th Century Revival
Fine feathers in wartime: dress designers attempt to counter the practical move of wearing shorter, fuller skirts by employing impractical styles of previous centuries

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