Costuming the Crown is an absolutely fabulous exhibit for fans of fashion, history, royalty, and of course, the Netflix original series, The Crown!
With the third season of Netflix's original series, The Crown, soon to be released, we thought this would be the perfect time to highlight this amazing exhibit!
So, several weeks ago, my mom and I ventured to Winterthur Museum in Delaware, for an exhibit that sounded great- Costuming the Crown.
In case you're not familiar with The Crown, it's a Netflix series chronicling the public and private life of Queen Elizabeth II, mostly accurate, but with some drama added in too! Since the show centers around royalty, you can imagine how the gowns, jewels, and fashions would add up!
Months ago we added this trip and exhibit at Winterthur to our ever-growing list of places to visit! When the ideal weekend presented itself, this trip shot up to the #1 slot, and we made our way to this beautiful estate and grounds.
The Costuming the Crown exhibit (continues through January 5, 2020) showcases many of the fashions worn by the series' cast in the first two seasons -some of them replicas of outfits the Royal Family wore in real life, and some dreamed up just for the show.
Well, it was enough of a draw to entice us into driving many hours to Delaware in anticipation of seeing this exhibit! We planned, got up fairly early, and wove our way through small towns and highways until we arrived! ( Stopping for some coffee and to take the occasional car selfie as well..!)
Now, in all honesty, neither my mom nor I had actually watched all of The Crown, beforehand, but the exhibit sounded so fascinating! We picked up the first season before we left to watch once we saw the costumes!
We got there fairly smoothly and purchased tickets, walking through the gardens before reaching the museum, which is part of an estate that used to be owned by the Du Ponts. The couple donated the house and 'downsized' to a 50 room 'cottage', only a stone's throw from the main estate!
The cottage is now the gift shop, and I can assure you it's not that tiny!
Let me start by saying that this is one of my favorite museum exhibits ever! This glamorous display of costumes and outfits worn in The Crown, should definitely not be missed!
We both took many photos and enjoyed reading about and seeing these costumes: dynamic gowns, haute couture of the era, everyday wear and everything in between!
Queen Elizabeth's coronation robe, her wedding dress, and gowns she and her sister, Princess Margaret wore for both formal and private occasions are just a sampling of the stunning, historically accurate costumes showcased in this well-done exhibit!
In addition to the ladies' fashions, there were detailed replicas of uniforms and suits worn by Prince Phillip and Winston Churchill as well as supporting members of the cast. In addition, accessories and props used in the first two seasons were on display as well.
Intermingled throughout the exhibit were interesting factoids about the show, the designers, and the clothes the royals wore that inspired and were replicated for The Crown.
There are many books I've read centering on royalty, Prisoners in the Palace is one of my all time faves!
Memorabilia, pictures of Queen Elizabeth and family, as well as costume sketches for the first two seasons were additions that made the exhibit extra-special for sure!
We had only viewed a couple episodes of Netflix's The Crown prior to going, but following this exhibit we both have become avid fans!
So fun to watch and see the costumes in the show after seeing them up close and we're looking forward to the third season coming out this November.
Five Fun Facts about Queen Elizabeth II
1. Queen Elizabeth's favorite dog breed are corgis, and she even created a new dog breed when her corgi and her sister's dachshund had puppies, inventing the breed 'dorgi'!
2. Queen Elizabeth is the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a driver's license!
3. The Queen has lots of hobbies-including riding horses and pigeon racing. Who knew the Queen had pigeons?!
4. Queen Elizabeth has sent out about 50,000 Christmas cards and counting!
5. The Queen sent her first email back in 1976, and published her first Instagram post in 2019!
...For more fun facts about Queen Elizabeth II, visit here: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/monarchy/facts-about-the-queen-elizabeth-ii/
After we'd enjoyed the exhibit and taken more pictures than you'll see in this post, we looked around the pop-up gift shop just outside with fun souvenirs that were all inspired by England, corgis, and the Queen!
Winterthur had other exhibits as well that were smaller, but still very fascinating to see and photograph. From there, we visited the main gift shop (located across from the museum) and headed back to our hotel to take a breather and get a bite to eat.
Above: A few photos taken from another exhibit we enjoyed at Winterthur: Open for Business: Photography, Trade and Self-Image, 1870-1950.
The rest of our evening was spent enjoying dinner, where we got a delicious pumpkin and chocolate cheesecake, (we ordered real food too!) and watched an episode of, you guessed it, The Crown!
The next morning, we were up bright and early, ready to trek back home after a great trip!
Costuming the Crown was an amazing exhibit that had so many wonderful elements! Whether you've always been an admirer of royalty, love fashion or can't get enough of the series itself, this destination is a must-see you'll thoroughly enjoy!
Cheers!
Cenzia
vonsamson43, Thank you so much! We felt like we wanted to BE royalty after seeing it!!
I very much enjoyed the post. The designs of clothing are quite amazing. Did you two feel like royalty for the day?