Putting on the Ritz: Ladies and Gents Personal Accessories
This exhibition is a result of a collaborative Shared Learning Project between the Museum of Everyday Life and the University of the Third Age (U3A) South-East London Heritage Group.
The year-long project involved U3A volunteers cataloguing and photographing items from the Museum’s collection, and then creating various outputs including this exhibition. This work was supported by the Museum, with training and supervision being provided throughout the project.
The collection of ladies and gents personal accessories was chosen for several reasons. The size of the collection made it feasible to complete the work in good time, the items themselves are small and portable, allowing work to take place offsite, and, most importantly, it was a collection which particularly interested the volunteers. A total of 270 items from six boxes were catalogued and photographed and will soon appear in the archive section of the website.
The items generally fit into five categories; Gents Accessories; Gents Shaving; Ladies Accessories; Ladies Hair Accessories, and Ladies Cosmetics and Perfumes.
Dates: 26 January – 20 April 2026
Open: Every day from 9.00am to 9.00pm apart from Bank Holidays
Location: Goldsmiths Library Foyer (Rutherford Building), London, SE14 6NW
Entry: you do not need a library card to access the foyer and the exhibition is free and open to the public