Unusual Paris Museums and Galleries

Musée de la Mode et du Costume de la Ville de Paris

(Costume and Fashion Museum)
Palais Galliéra, 10, av. Pierre Ier de Serbie, 75116 Paris
Tel: 47 20 85 23
Fax: 47 23 38 37

Metro: Iéna, Alma-Marceau
RER: Charles De Gaulle Etoile Champs-Elysées
Bus: 32, 63, 92
Open: 10 am - 5:40 pm, Tuesday - Sunday
Entry: Charge varies depending on the temporary exhibitions, eg Adult €7 Concession: €5.50 14-26yrs: €3.50 Free for children up to 13 years old.

The Museum of Fashion in Paris is housed in the Palais Galliéra, which was built in Renaissance style at the end of the 19th century. It contains clothing and professional uniforms from 1735 to the present day, including Brigitte Bardot’s Dior wedding dress, a classic 1930s Chanel wool suit, and a robe worn by stage legend Sarah Bernhardt.

About 90 000 items of clothing are in the Collection, among which are many pieces by grands couturiers and well-known fashion designers. In fact, fashion houses like Balmain, Givenchy and Balenciaga regularly donate new dresses and other outfits to the museum, as do famous (and rich!) women like Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor and Baronne Helene de Rothschild.

The fashion exhibits are displayed in rotation and usually in two major exhibitions each year. These shows can highlight a particular couturier's career or explore a single theme. The museum also has thousands of etchings, engravings,and fashion photographs, not to mention jewellery, canes, hats, fans, gloves, parasols and umbrellas; there used to be guided tours on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:30 pm, but I don't know whether they still do them (2006).

Next page : Musée de la Mode et du Textile (Fashion Museum)