Playing Truant with Yves Saint Laurent

We made it back eventually after two days of driving mainly at night to avoid the heat through Europe and a long day up from Dover to the far north through terrible English traffic. Home to briefly put the washing in the machine and repack the suitcases for the next trip. But I abandoned the piles of mail on the table (and the dust!) to take a granddaughter to the Yves Saint Laurent 'Style is Eternal' exhibition at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.

Marina Schiano in That Dress

I think there are probably very few girls who haven't fantasized about sweeping into a room in a fabulous dress.

I was never a particularly girlie girl, but wasn't immune to the seductions of silk and swirl.  This exhibition looks at YSL's work as an artist in fabric.  The clothes are fabulous and most of them are very wearable.  Though this wedding dress makes the bride look rather like a robot. Anyone for crochet?

Many of the dresses were inspired by art.  This is the nineteen sixties Mondrian collection.

My favourites were the clothes that were conventional, very wearable and in beautiful fabrics and colours.  This is the Matisse dress.

Just for one day I played truant from all the socio-political issues of haute-couture and capitalist consumer culture. YSL knew all about the seductive and sensual qualities of clothes.  Now I have to pack the wellingtons and fleecy pyjamas and put on the wet weather gear to volunteer at a jazz festival in Llandudno.  Living in a tent for four days in north Wales with not a lot of opportunity for Style! But at least the music will be good.