Days 3-4 - Victoria and Albert Museum, Hampton Court

V&A - The cafe in the V&A Museum is one of the most opulent I've ever eaten in, and happily the price doesn't match the decor.





















V&A - Muslin gown with shawl, 1800. The Regency period (and the decade before it) saw a shocking move toward more classically-influenced women's apparel, with an emphasis on draping, that abandoned the full petticoats, long tapered waists, panniers, and powdered hair/wigs of the previous decades.





















V&A - A remnant of the 'Glass Drawing Room' for the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland in 1770. Now imagine an entire large room with walls done in this glazed crimson and gold gilt.
















V&A - A late 18th-century epergne, which served as a centerpiece to hold fruit or other objects. I'm glad I know what one looks like now, since there is already one on the table in my romance novel when Malcolm's 'enemy' arrives to toss a sheep's head at it.