Musée du Costume

What you will see

A guide takes you from room to room through the house, where the clothes are shown among period furniture and paintings. The 2026 exhibition, devoted to the 1920s, follows the new silhouette of the garçonne: short dresses with dropped waists richly embroidered with beads, cloche hats and coloured silk lingerie. The panelled rooms of the old house are part of the visit.

History

The house is first recorded in the 16th century, when it belonged to the Filsjean, a leading Avallon family. In the 17th century the town bought it from Georges Filsjean and gave it to Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, whose son Louis II, the future Grand Condé, had stayed here in his youth. The princes used it for hunting. Louis II later gave it back to Georges Filsjean, then captain of his guards, as a reward for his loyal service, and in 1669 it was sold to François Guijon, a criminal judge at the Avallon court.

The present building dates mainly from the 18th century. Its 18th-century parts, including the staircase, were listed as a historic monument in 1990, and the house belongs to the town. The costume museum changes its theme every season. In 2019 it looked at the ways clothes fasten, from buttons and laces to the zip, and in 2026 at the fashions of the 1920s.