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Bag
Unknown - Enlarge image
Bag
- Place of origin:
Great Britain, UK (made)
- Date:
early 1950s (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Plastic
- Credit Line:
Given by Dr Beryl Gilroy
- Museum number:
T.136-1995
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This plastic mock-croc bag formed part of an outfit worn by Dr Beryl Gilroy and displayed in the exhibition Streetstyle, From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to Tomorrow held at the V&A in 1994-95. The complete outfit consisted of a black-and-white checked Krimatex woollen coat; a scrim and velvet hat; the bag and a salmon pink cotton mix two-piece suit by Nat Gaynes (Guyana). The outfit reflected a style of dress worn by West Indian women in Britain in the early 1950s.
Dr Gilroy travelled from Guyana to England in 1951 to continue her studies in teaching. Her wardrobe consisted of brightly-coloured tailored clothes, which she had made by local dressmakers who copied styles from American fashion magazines. She wore the suit in the Caribbean and bought the hat and coat in London because of the colder climate. She recalled that her clothes were significantly more colourful than standard post-war wear and included items such as peddle-pushers, which had not previously been seen in Britain. Dr Gilroy became London’s first black headteacher in 1968.
