This weekend marks the official opening of Brisbane's third major fashion exhibit, plus a rare opportunity to buy exquisite costumes worn by Queensland ballerinas.
It's an ideal time for lovers of flair, fabric and frillies to explore the sartorial side of the River City.
Hollywood glam
Brisbane lawyer Nicholas Inglis has spent the past 20 years building up one of the most astonishing collections of movie memorabilia you're ever likely to come across.
His specialty is the costumes and accessories from Hollywood films of the 1930s to the 1960s, the so-called "Golden Age".
More than 60 of his most outstanding pieces have now been lovingly displayed in this pitch-perfect exhibition, which places them in their historical context, and dishes the dirt on how stars and studio designers worked together – or in some cases, clashed dramatically – over what they wore onscreen.
"I look at them as works of art," Mr Inglis said during a preview of Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
"People can look at them for different reason: the construction, who wore them, how they looked onscreen."
The line-up of stars represented is phenomenal: Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Esther Williams, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Katherine Hepburn, Debbie Reynolds, Orson Welles, Lucille Ball, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and more.
As well as an extraordinary hoop skirt dress she wore in 1957's Raintree County, the exhibit also features one of the wigs Elizabeth Taylor wore in Cleopatra in 1963.
Co-curator Dr Nadia Buick said she felt like a kid in a candy store going through Mr Ingris' collection.
One of her favourite films is the 1951 classic Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson as a fading movie star.
Dr Buick said seeing the nightgown worn by Swanson took her breath away.
"When that garment first came out, I was amazed I was in the same room as this piece worn in this iconic film by this iconic actress," she said.
"Somehow this stuff had ended up in Brisbane and I was getting to see it."
Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood opens on Saturday November 22 at the Museum of Brisbane, Level 3 City Hall. It will until May 24, 2015 and is free. More information online.
Show us your knickers
The most revealing exhibit in Brisbane right now is Undressed, a collection of more than 80 undergarments direct from London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
It's all about peeling back history layer by layer to see what we've worn next to our skin through the last few hundred years – from the chemises, petticoats and shirts worn next to the skin, to stays and corsets to support the bust and cinch the waist, right through to the bras and underpants that emerged in the 20th century.
V&A textile conservator Kirra Miller said they even have a pair of Queen Victoria's drawers.
"We know they belonged to her because they have a little "VR" embroidered on them with a small crown," she said.
Queen Victoria is most famously remembered as the portly widow in black, but Ms Miller said these particular knickers were on trend.
"They're dated to about 1860... they were the fashionable object of the time and are not astronomically large," she said.
"They're made with a drawstring at the top. We have them displayed fully extended, but actually they would have been drawn up tightly around the waist."
Undressed runs at the Queensland Museum, South Bank until February 1, 2015. Tickets are $21.50/$19.00 available online.
Haute couture to harajuku
Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion has been garnering rave reviews since it opened at GOMA at the start of the month.
Featuring more than 100 garments from the prestigious Kyoto Costume Institute, it's a wild ride from the classic to contemporary, via the revolutionary, the high-concept, the decadent and the bizarre.
"We've had great success with fashion shows here, and a really long engagement with contemporary Japanese culture," assistant curator Tarun Nagesh said.
"It made great sense for us to look at this hugely influential period of Japanese fashion."
Future Beauty runs until February 15 at GOMA, South Bank. Tickets are $20 adults, $16 concession. More information online.
Buy a piece of performance history
The Queensland Ballet's costume department is bursting at the seams, meaning they will throw open their studio doors for a rare everything-must-go sale.
Resident Designer and Wardrobe Production Manager Noelene Hill said the last QB sale in June 2009 was so popular buyers even came from interstate.
"We have kept the iconic and highly valuable items in our permanent collection," said Noelene.
"But there are still hundreds of costumes for sale, so there'll be plenty to choose from."
Keen collectors can purchase unique character and period costumes, dresses, leotards, and men's jackets, vests and pants. Accessories such as headpieces and jewellery, and a large variety of fabric remnants are also up for grabs.
Prices start at $5, with most items going for under $100.
The sale runs from 9am to 1pm on Saturday November 22 at the Thomas Dixon Centre, corner of Drake St and Montague Rd, West End. Cash will not be accepted, only credit cards and EFTPOS payments accepted. Find out more online.
And if you can't make it to the Queensland Ballet sale, don't fret – Opera Queensland is holding its first costume sale in its 33-year history next Saturday November 29 in their studio at South Bank. More information online.
