Fifty Fabulous Frocks at the Fashion Museum, Bath

Centuries of style; Madame Katy, late 1890s, Charles Worth, mid-1890s, Victor Stiebel, early 1950s,
Vivienne Westwood, 1999

We took the girls to Bath Spa last weekend and popped to The Fashion Museum's latest show, Fifty Fabulous Frocks. The exhibition celebrates the museum's fiftieth anniversary with a spectacular selection of dresses spanning back to the 1700s. Writer and costume designer, Doris Langley Moore opened the museum in 1963 and it's since become one of the most important costume archives outside the V&A. I was a little nervous about how child friendly it would be but the dresses are displayed safely behind thick glass so Evie and Lola were able to drool (quite literally) over outfits without mummy getting arrested. It's also quite small and easy to navigate so there's little opportunity to get bored. The girls loved the kaleidoscopic range of dresses featuring intricate embroidery, garish prints and cute details such as the spectacular 18th century embroidered court dress which Evie thought was brilliant and 1930s dress featuring Mickey Mouse (above). The most fun was to be had in the dress-up section with a range of Victorian-style outfits for the whole family. Evie and Lola absolutely loved this – as did CLB daddy who looked spookily like The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The museum is located in Bath's stunning Assembly Rooms, a spectacular Bath stone building with the highest ceilings and grandest chandeliers EVER and the vast empty ballroom provides a great place for little ones to burn off energy. All in all, a brilliant afternoon out. Tickets, from £7.50 for adults and free for children under five. Details here.

Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath, BA1 2Q (01225 477789/www.museumofcostume.co.uk)

1930s dress with Mickey Mouse embroidery

1930s Mickey Mouse, floral dress by Gina Fratini, 1973, coat, unknown designer, 1940s

A striking 1760s embroider court gown

Red and black lace Erdem frock with YSL vintage feathers in the background

Lola as a solemn Victorian toddler!

CLB daddy AKA Victorian Dad or is that The Child Catcher?

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The Wallace Collection

Mrs Susanna Hoare and Child, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1763-64

It was Evie's second birthday yesterday and I met my mother for a celebratory lunch at The Wallace Collection. This stunning Georgian townhouse on Manchester Square has been on my must-go to list for the past decade and I finally got to experience the incredible opulence (think gob-smacking Louis XV chandeliers and stunning Sevres ceramics) and an utterly incredible collection of 18th century French art (there is currently a fantastic exhibition of Watteau's art, on until June 5). As a mummy myself, naturally I was drawn to the images of mothers and children. It was moving to see how children and babies have been depicted in paintings over the past few centuries and I was particular taken with Sir Joshua Reynold's 1763 portrait of Mrs Richard Hoare, Susanna, with her baby (above). If you haven't been, CLB can strongly recommend it. What's more there are a host of family activities including The Little Draw, a drop-in art workshop held in the galleries on the first Sunday of each month from 1.30-4.30pm. There will also be a whole host of activities during half term (from Mon 30th May-Fri 3rd June).

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN (020 7563 9500/www.wallacecollection.org) Bond St tube. Open 10am-5pm seven days a week. Admission free.

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Yann Sciberras at Bobo Kids

Mia is a Princess

Bobo Kids, the gorgeous children's interior shop in Chelsea, launches the first of its in-store exhibitions today. Running until July 31, twelve pieces by French artist Yann Sciberras will be showcased throughout the store. We love his bold, graffiti-inspired graphics strewn with quirky characters and cheeky slogans. Sure to add a bit of street cred to your little one's boudoir. Art work from £990.

Bobo Kids, 29 Elystan Street, London SW3 3NT (020 7838 1020/www.bobokids.co.uk) South Kensington tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.

Human is a Robot

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Gauguin at the Tate Modern

'Maternity', 1889

Evie and I braved Tate Modern's crowds to see the Gauguin exhibition this afternoon. It was soooo worth it. We loved his still life studies of 'flowers' ('wowers' according to E-chops) and the vibrant canvases depicting Polynesian women in luscious tropical, techicolour colour. You can almost sense the humidity of the Tahitian-climate just looking at them. I was intrigued to find out Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin, 1848-1903, had been a well-to-do stockbroker and that he didn't pick up a paint brush until he was the ripe old age of 27. The Paris stock market crashed in 1882 and soon afterwards he abandoned his wife Mitte and five children (charming!) to pursue art, eventually heading to the South Seas to revel in the more primitive way of life. He knew buyers would love these exotic, richly-coloured paintings and the myths they evoked. Gauguin had a dark side but his paintings from that era are glorious and I love the way these women and children are depicted. Who knows, perhaps deep down he missed his wife and kids? He died of syphilis at the age of just 54 on a remote Polynesian island. 'It is true that suffering sharpens the genius, yet too much suffering kills you,' he said. Go see the genius for yourself.
Gauguin is on at Tate Modern until  16 January 2011. 020 7887 8888/www.tate.org.uk. Book a time slot (aim for a week day when it is quieter).

'Nativity', 1896

Faa Iheihe, 1898

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Doll Face at the V&A Museum of Childhood

Be prepared to be spooked at the V&A's Museum of Childhood. Photographer Craig Deane is exhibiting a dozen images of dolls, picked from the museum's 8,000 strong archive. Fascinated by 'the evolving representations we have made of ourselves - and given to our children to play with', his photographs present a variety of dolls of different shapes and colours spanning back to the 1930s. It is interesting but unnerving too. I feel this is one for the grown-ups, I don't want to give little Evie nightmares. Suddenly teddy bears seem a whole lot more cuddly.

V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA (020 8983 5200/www.vam.ac.uk) Open Mon-Sun 10am-5.45pm. Doll Face is on now until the end of the year.

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