Defying Expectations

And the new exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum is now open: 

Defying Expectations: Inside Charlotte Bronté's Wardrobe

February 02nd 2022 10:00am - January 01st 2023 05:00pm

This brand new exhibition,  co-curated with historical consultant Dr. Eleanor Houghton, places focus on some of the remarkable garments and accessories worn by Charlotte Brontë. These brightly coloured, fashionable, even exotic items boldly challenge the preconception that Brontë and her famous protagonist Jane Eyre were, at least in terms of dress, one and the same. The clothes draw attention to both Charlotte’s ordinary and extraordinary lives but also remind us that she was an active participant of the fast-changing mid-nineteenth century.

At the heart of ‘Defying Expectations’ is a striped evening dress, which has never been exhibited before. The dress was proved to be Charlotte’s during an extensive period of research conducted over the last six years by Dr. Eleanor Houghton, the first scholar ever to have studied the clothing in the Brontë Society's collection in detail.  

The exhibition features more than twenty pieces of Charlotte’s clothing and accessories and offers an intimate insight into both her domestic and literary lives.