MEMBERS from the Buckland Abbey Costume Group recently entertained the ladies of the Yelverton Ladies' Open Group to an unusual fashion show — pictured. 

All the gowns on display, made from materials typical of the period, had been hand-sewn by ladies of the group, using portraits from the Buckland Abbey collection and other sources, to produce authentic copies of costumes from 1250 to the early 1900s. 

Models ranged from one of the Lady Amicia, Dowager Countess of Devon and foundress of Buckland Abbey in her wimple and linen gown, to a typical yeoman farmer's wife and lady from the time of Elizabeth, a Puritan lady in more restrained attire and steeple crowned hat, ladies adorned in early Georgian brocade and in the high-waisted Regency style so reminiscent of Jane Austen's young ladies and finally 

crinolines from the end of Victoria's reign and a dashing Edwardian lady in split skirt, leg of mutton sleeves and boater.