Dressing Up: Fashion and Nightlife in Eighteenth-Century Hampshire

From elegant assembly rooms and private balls to bustling theatres and fireworks displays, exhibition Dressing Up: Fashion and Nightlife in Eighteenth-Century Hampshire explores how people across Hampshire experienced life after dark between 1750 and 1820.

Drawing on rare books, manuscripts, fashion plates and artworks from Chawton House alongside clothing and accessories on loan from private collections, the exhibition reveals the choices, preparations and social expectations behind an evening’s entertainment. Discover how women and men dressed for different occasions, how hairstyles and cosmetics reflected changing fashions, and how accessories transformed Georgian ladies and gentlemen for their evenings.