Exhibitions 'Laura Ashley : From Kitchen to Catwalk' Extended until Summer 2026 Read more 'Power Dressing' February 2025 - November 2026 Read more '20th Century Brides : A Hundred Years of Wedding Dress' 16th February 2026 Read more 'Youthquake:1960s' 16th February 2026 Read more More... More ... More... More...

'Power Dressing' February 2025 - November 2026 Power Dressing: 1770-1990 Fashion and textiles have long been signifiers of power and wealth. Throughout the ages, the colour and fabric of garments communicated the status of the wearer. Certain fabrics and colours have even been banned for lower classes. The style of a garment can enable the wearer to create a statement and take up space. The production of textiles has the power to create fortunes and destabilise entire economies. This exhibition is split into two rooms. The Powerful Silhouette focuses on how emphasis on shoulders in women's wear can create a commanding figure, from the shoulder pads of the 1980s to Romantic leg-of-mutton sleeves of the 1820s. Power & Textiles examines the cultural and economic significance of certain fabrics through time, from sumptuary laws and velvet to paisley shawls and The British Empire. See handout for more information.

'Youthquake:1960s' 16th February 2026 Blandford Fashion Museum is excited to present the 'Youthquake:1960s' exhibition, as part of the Fashioning Our Future project with The Salisbury Museum. Thanks to funding received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Fashioning Our Future project, students from Arts University Bournemouth and local Sixth Forms have been working with the museum team to bring to life this dynamic exhibition. Choosing objects from the museum’s extensive fashion collection, the students explored 1960s boutique fashion alongside homemade garments encapsulating the free-spirited energy of the 1960s. Many of the garments featured in the exhibition represent innovative sartorial statements expressed during the 1960s era through bold garments made at home. This adventurous attitude to style is a theme that resonated with the students, aligning with their concerns around sustainability and making conscious fashion choices. In addition to marveling at the glorious 1960s fashions on display, visitors can also step into fashions of the era with a specially selected collection of garments for dressing up and handling. From crochet to patchwork, bold minidresses and boho maxi dresses, expect to be immersed in the 1960s era in this fantastic fashion exhibition.

'Laura Ashley : From Kitchen to Catwalk' Extended until Summer 2026 In 1953, inspired by a Women's Institute exhibition at the V and A Museum, Laura and Bernard Ashley started printing fabrics in their kitchen. They soon started selling tea towels, and in 1955 opened a showroom in Old Burlington Street in London. Gardening aprons and smocks marked a move towards garments. In 1959, Laura Ashley started to use flower motifs, something the company would become well known for. Once the Ashley family relocated to Mid Wales and opened a shop in Machylleth, Laura Ashley began to experiment with historical styles. After initially having a small factory in Kent, an old social club in Carno provided a new location for the Welsh factory. Five years later, the company was so successful they moved to disused railway station to build a new factory. Through the 1960s and 1970s, there was a boom in small British led boutiques that would shape the British high street for the next few decades. Along with other British female designers, such as Mary Quant and Barbara Hulanicki (Biba), Laura Ashley became a household name and her dresses, especially her floral, prairie-style, maxi dresses became highly desirable and synonymous with the era. Throughout the 1970s, the Laura Ashley brand achieved international recognition and in 1980 they launched their homewares catalogue. Laura Ashley passed away in 1985 and the company was floated on the stock market. By the 2000s, the brand had started to fall out of favour and focused back on homewares. The late 2010s and early 2020s started to see a revival for the brand as original pieces appeared in vintage shops but the company went into administration

'20th Century Brides : A Hundred Years of Wedding Dress' 16th February 2026 Through the 1910s to the 1990s explore how fashion trends and personal choice saw the development of wedding dresses, from fairytale gowns to floral suits and everything in-between.

Donations / Acquisitions Due to storage issues, we have to be very strict on accepting donations and making acquisitions. If you would like to donate items to the Blandford Fashion Museum please email photographs and any relevant information to collections@blandfordfashionmuseum.co.uk The donations will then be considered by our display team, before going through the acquisition panel, where the collections' manager and a group of trustees will decide if we accept the item. This process can take a few months. We are lucky that we receive a lot of offers of donations, but to process them takes time. If your item is accepted, we will arrange the relevant paperwork and set a date to deposit the item.Please note, as we are a fashion museum we only take items relating to costume and fashionable dress. We do not currently accept other textiles (such as quilts, tapestries etc) or social history items (such as dolls). We currently do not have the budget to purchase any items for the collection. Items accepted may be taken into our main collection, our education collection or be used for set dressing, but we will discuss these options with you more thoroughly depending on what we think is best for the item. Please do not deposit or post any donations to the museum without prior confirmation that we will accept the item. Doing this may result in disposal. Thank you for considering donating to us.

Historical fashion museum set in a beautiful Georgian townhouse in Dorset LATEST NEWS 'Youthquake:1960s' Exhibition' 14th February 2026 Blandford Fashion Museum is excited to announce that we are now open and we have many new exhibitions to explore including the colourful 'Youthquake:1960s'. This is presented as part of the Fashioning Our Future project with The Salisbury Museum. Thanks to funding received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Fashioning Our Future project, students from Arts University Bournemouth and local Sixth Forms have been working with the museum team to bring to life this dynamic exhibition. Find out more here ... VOLUNTEER WITH US BECOME A TRUSTEE Come and be a part of this friendly and unique museum and tea room by volunteering with us. Sign up here... We are currently seeking to appoint new Trustees to join our voluntary Board of Directors. We need those willing to take leading roles at Board level in developing sponsorship and donation income streams. For an informal conversation or to express interest, please contact Deputy Chair of Trustees, Associate Professor Rebecca Pride - rebeccapride19@gmail.com. GROUP VISITS Would you like a tailored experience and the chance to see our collection up close and amongst colleagues or friends? We have a variety of packages available! Please visit our 'Group Visit' page here ....

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Workshops Step out in Style this Spring! Monday 30th March 2026 10:30 - 12:00 pm Read More

Online Talks List Online Talks for 2026 coming soon ...... Calling all Fashion Designers! Be inspired by our 'Youthquake:1960s' exhibition to design your own garments. We will use our Youthquake:1960s exhibition as a starting point to spark creativity in designing some exciting and innovative garments. Students from Arts University Bournemouth and local 6th forms worked with the staff from the Fashion Museum to bring this dynamic exhibition to life. We will also examine the the sketches, paintings and collage work of Heidy and Isabelle Becks. All materials will be supplied but feel free to bring your own pens, pencils and colouring materials with you. Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent/carer https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/calling-all-fashion-designers-tickets-1984958686866?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Read More

Title Join us at the Blandford Fashion Museum on April 2, 2026 at 10:30 AM for a fun, hands-on event where you can create your own Easter decorations! Don’t miss out on making your space extra special this Easter! We will stitch an easy pattern onto wooden eggs and make a window decoration. All materials are supplied. A drink and a biscuit are included in the price and you can also look around the Fashion Museum, if you wish. All children must be accompanied by a parent/carer. This workshop must have 4 attendees to run, so invite your friends to join you. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/easter-decorations-tickets-1984771603294?aff=ebdssbdestsearch Previous Next

Governance Blandford Fashion Museum is a charity registered under the name of Cavalcade of Costume Limited (Charity Number: 1052471) and also a registered company limited by guarantee. It is governed by a board of Trustees each serving for a term of three years. Presently there are nine trustees including the Treasurer and Chairman.In addition to an Annual General Meeting, the Trustees meet monthly. The day-to day management of the museum is the responsibility of the Management committee under the direction of the Operations Manager. This committee meets quarterly. The Costume and Display team, led by the Museum’s Curator, are responsible for the care of the museum’s collections and the programme of exhibitions.Feel free to contact us for any further information.