This past week, I visited Cape Cod, my family’s favorite vacation spot. We always stay in North Truro, right near Provincetown. This year, I discovered that a museum in Sandwich, which is about halfway from my apartment to Truro, had a period film fashion exhibit so of course I had to stop and see it. It was well worth my time! The museum itself is amazing – it has several indoor exhibits as well as extensive gardens and interactive learning activities (these were mostly for children but still fun for adults).

The woman supervising the fashion exhibit was very excited to find that I was a sewist, and even went out of her way to show me some of the gorgeous antique lace the museum had in the back. After asking permission to take photos, I got these pictures of my favorite pieces in the collection.

Some of the pieces had incredible embroidery, which the costume designers researched carefully to make historically accurate for each film.

This one has a panel from a real 19th century dress in it:

Many of the dresses had gorgeous trains (which, the museum docent pointed out, disappeared after the automobile became ubiquitous and women had to get in and out of cars):

Lastly, I really liked the 1920s vibe of this one:

This exhibit is only here for another month or so, but the Heritage Museum was a very cool visit. I didn’t even get to see the whole thing – the gardens and museum are huge! I’d definitely consider stopping there again to spend a bit more time next time I’m in that area. I highly recommend checking it out!