Ermine collar and muff

For as long as there have been motorcars there has been the need to create practical and fashionable motoring clothing and accessories. Without windscreens and heating, a drive in an early car could be cold and wet.

Passengers and drivers wore goggles, hats, coats, aprons and gloves made of leather to protect themselves against the wet weather. Whilst light weight dust coats, made from materials such as linen, were worn on dry warm days.

This ermine collar and muff belonged to and were worn by Miss Louie Butler a relative of Mr Edward Butler. The items now belong to Mrs Margaret Butler, a great niece of Louie Butler and are typical of those worn by fashionable motoring ladies during the Edwardian period.

Women’s motoring clothing changed as often as other clothing fashions, and fashionable females were encouraged to keep up-to-date with the latest trends by reading articles such as ‘Modes for Motorists’ by Madame La Pip-Pip, published in the early 1900s in the ‘Motoring Illustrated’ journal.

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