Museums for clothes and hats and costumes

If you are interested in the history of clothes, hats and other related things like costumes then we've put together a list of places in the UK you can visit to learn more.

If you know of a museum we've not listed then please get in touch. If you've got a particular favourite place to visit then send us your own review.

Kylie at the V&A
Kylie - The Exhibition - free entry but booking recommended.
8 February 2007 - 10 June 2007

Hatworks - hatting industry, hats and headwear museum - Hat Works, Wellington Mill, Wellington Road South, Stockport, Cheshire SK3 0EU

Hat Works has a good collection of twentieth century British hats, including top hats, bowler hats, trilbies, homburgs, 1950/60’s ladies synthetic hats, and all kinds of hats dating from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Museum of Costume - Bath - Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, BATH, BA1 2QH
They have different exhibitions on - and Corsets uncovered is available currently.
The Museum of Costume has a very fine collection of early decorative gloves on loan from the Worshipful Company of Glovers of London.

Bishop's Stortford Museum - Rhodes collection includes photographs, portraits, models, costumes, furniture and a selection of ethnographic objects
South Road
Bishop's Stortford
Herts CM23 3JG

Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Cornwall - COSTUMES AND TEXTILES

Shambellie House Costume Museum - From parasols to party dresses, linen to lavender bags and samplers to shoes.
Museum of Costume
New Abbey
Dumfriesshire
DG2 8HQ

Embridge museum - Dressing the 60s! - temporary exhibition
21 January to 8 July 2006

Bristol's Blaise Castle House Museum - The Costume Collection is the fourth largest in the South West, however limited space only enables a very small sample to be on display at any one time.

Victoria and Albert Museum -covers fashionable dress from the 17th century to the present day,

Museum of London

Gallery of Antique Costume and Textiles, London

Chertsey Museum -

Gallery of Costume, Manchester -The Gallery of Costume is open to the public on the last Saturday of every month, 10.00-5.00. The Gallery will also be open to pre-booked groups and researchers (by appointment only) Tuesday-Friday, 10.00-12.00 and 1.00-5.00.

Bexhill Museum of Costume and Social History

Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans

The Royal Marines Museum Costume and Textiles -ceremonial, utility and specialised clothing, headwear, shoes and boots, badges and insignia
Royal Marines Museum Southsea, Hampshire, PO4 9PX

Tullie House Fine Arts , Carlisle

Costume Society they pioneered the exploration of all aspects of clothing and personal appearance. They have a journal.

Vocabulary of Basic Terms for Cataloguing Costume -International Committee for the Museums and Collections of Costume