Vintage fashion show brings glamour to town

A selection of vintage dresses were paraded through the library at the event which was well attended by members of the public, some of whom had even come dressed in their own 1940s costumes.

The beautiful clothes on display were on loan from the Hope House Costume Museum in Derbyshire having been collected by its owner and vintage clothes enthusiast Notty Hornblower.

They featured authentic wedding dresses, ball gowns and day dresses which have been bought or donated to the museum over the years.

The library also hosted a display of some of the clothes salvaged from Skegby Hall when it was cleared out.

The oldest of these dates from the eighteenth century and they are all looked after by Notty after being bought at auction by Sutton Heritage Story.

Notty provides the ongoing specialist care that the clothes need, something that is much appreciated by the Heritage Society, which could not find anywhere local to store or display them.

Member Angela Morris, who was one of the organisers of the fashion show and display, said: “It was very difficult to find anybody to take them. Nobody in Sutton would display them, nobody in Mansfield, even the V&A wouldn’t.

“Eventually someone found Notty and she agreed to take the collection.”

The clothes on display at the library included a wedding dress from 1893 that had a tiny 17 inch waist, an authentic beaded flapper dress and some of former Skegby Hall master Squire Dodsley’s socks.

The library also has a Second World War display on, featuring news stores, artefacts and local items of interest.