Fancy Dress Costume
1929 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ivory satin ‘Christmas Cake’ dress was made for a young girl in 1929. It has a round skirt supported by wooden hoops, and is decorated with ruched ribbon and paper frills and festooned with small figures of Santa Claus, robins, and sprigs of holly. Across the front, worked in red satin ribbon, is the greeting ‘Happy Xmas 1929’.
As well the dress, the outfit includes a satin beret decorated with more frills and bells, and a cake board and knife, almost as large as the dress itself.
This dress was acquired as part of a very large collection of children’s clothes, furniture and toys in 1984, and underwent conservation work in 1992.
As well the dress, the outfit includes a satin beret decorated with more frills and bells, and a cake board and knife, almost as large as the dress itself.
This dress was acquired as part of a very large collection of children’s clothes, furniture and toys in 1984, and underwent conservation work in 1992.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Materials and techniques | Mixed fibre satin weave, paper, card |
| Brief description | Dress and accessories for Christmas Cake costume, ivory satin trimmed with red ribbon and christmas decorations, England 1929. |
| Physical description | Child's fancy dress costume representing a Christmas cake, consisting of: Ivory cotton-satin dress. The bodice is round-necked and puff-sleeved and trimmed with red ribbon. Wooden hoops in the skirt, in the form of a farthingale, create a cylindrical structure. The top and bottom of the skirt is trimmed with red and tartan paper cake frills. At the front of the dress, the slogan 'Happy Xmas 1929' is worked in ruched ribbon. Artificial holly and Santa Claus figures are attached around the skirt. Ivory satin beret, decorated with bells, artificial holly, paper cake frill, two Santa Claus figures and a toy robin. Knife made of paper and card, painted grey. Round cake board with folded edge, made of paper and card, painted grey. |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Happy Xmas / 1929' |
| Gallery label | Dressed to impress
Dressing up isn’t just for actors.
Sometimes we wear special clothes to make a normal day feel special. This festive costume turned its wearer into a Christmas cake!
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery short object label] (2023) |
| Credit line | Given by Muriel Monro |
| Object history | Worn by a member of the Monro family, possibly Jean Monro (born 1922). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This ivory satin ‘Christmas Cake’ dress was made for a young girl in 1929. It has a round skirt supported by wooden hoops, and is decorated with ruched ribbon and paper frills and festooned with small figures of Santa Claus, robins, and sprigs of holly. Across the front, worked in red satin ribbon, is the greeting ‘Happy Xmas 1929’. As well the dress, the outfit includes a satin beret decorated with more frills and bells, and a cake board and knife, almost as large as the dress itself. This dress was acquired as part of a very large collection of children’s clothes, furniture and toys in 1984, and underwent conservation work in 1992. |
| Bibliographic reference | Marion Kite, 'The Xmas Cake Dress', V&A Conservation Journal (Issue 18, January 1996) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | MISC.172 to C-1984 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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