THE COSTUME SOCIETY SYMPOSIUM 2009
VIRTUE and VICE: MORALITY IN FASHION
Great Malvern 3rd - 5th JULY

Add on day Berrington Hall Monday 6 July

The theme of the Symposium is Virtue and Vice: Morality in Fashion and this subject will bring together areas of recent research in this field, analysing and interpreting the social etiquettes associated with dress.

The keynote speakers are Aileen Ribeiro, Jill Salen and Emma Tarlo. Papers on a wide range of topics within the theme of Morality in Fashion will be presented . Details are available here.
Symposium Programme 2009

The weekend will also feature two of the Society’s award schemes - Patterns of Fashion and Student Design Awards.
The Symposium will be based at The Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern, Worcestershire. This 4 star hotel is adjacent to the famous eleventh-century Priory, a cathedral-sized wonder of English medieval architecture and less than one mile from Great Malvern station. It was the waters that made Malvern a popular spa town in the 19th century, attracting people like Sir Edward Elgar and George Bernard Shaw.
 
Great Malvern station is less than one mile from the hotel, which has a large free car park. For early arrivals on Friday we offer a private visit to Madresfield Court, which Simon Jenkins rated among the '50 best' in his book on 1000 Historic Houses. Evelyn Waugh was a frequent weekend guest and it is said that Madresfield was his inspiration for Brideshead.

The weekend will include visits to the Costume Stores of both Hereford and Worcester County Museum Services. Hereford's new multi-million pound costume and textile store opened in 2008. Curator Althea MacKenzie will show us some of the costume treasures held there.
 
Worcestershire County Museum is housed in the servants' quarters of Hartlebury Castle, home to the Bishop of Worcester since the 16th century. Curator Anita Blyth has promised us a rare view of the Museum's costume holdings.
 
Monday's add-on day, will feature a visit to Berrington Hall home of the Wade Costume Collection from Snowshill Manor, courtesy of curator Althea MacKenzie.

Directions and Map for The Abbey Hotel



SYMPOSIUM STUDENT BURSARY

A bursary is available to enable a full time or part time student to attend the Symposium, (Friday to Sunday) including lectures, visits, accommodation and meals. For further information and terms see Student Bursary.