Wedding dress

Physical description

Wedding dress consisting of a pelisse robe with large imbecile sleeves and bell shaped skirt. It is made of white muslin with self coloured cotton embroidery in a formal floral pattern. There is a bow of satin at ankle height, in the front of the skirt. The dress is lined with silk and fastens at the neck and waist with black metal hooks and eyes. There is an additional silk tying ribbon inside the waist.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1834 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Muslin embroidered with cotton and lined with silk

Dimensions

Circumference: 57.5 cm waist, Circumference: 57.5 cm diaphragm, Width: 38 cm shoulder to shoulder, approximate, Length: 30 cm bodice, Length: 124 cm overall length, front, Length: 131 cm overall length, back, Length: 67 cm sleeve length, approximate, Circumference: 15 cm wristband, Circumference: 330 cm hem, Length: 92 cm skirt, front, Length: 95 cm skirt back

Object history note

Associated with a wedding in the Mayo family, possibly that of Mary-Anne-Grace Quin to Herbert Mayo at St Mary's Church, Stoke Newington, London, on 3 November 1834.

The donor of this pelisse also donated Mary-Anne-Grace's daughter's wedding dress of 1869 to the V&A (see T.64-1973)

Descriptive line

Wedding dress of embroidered muslin, England, 1834.

Exhibition History

Unveiled: 200 years of wedding glamour from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 17/12/2011-22/04/2012)
The White Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashions (Bendigo Art Gallery 01/08/2011-06/11/2011)

Labels and date

White muslin dress and cape
Britain
1834

White muslin was popular for wedding dresses in the first half of the 19th century. This embroidered example is thought to have been worn by Mary-Anne-Grace Quin, who married Herbert Mayo, a broker in colonial commodities, in London on 3 November 1834.

Dress: muslin, embroidered with cotton, lined with silk, with replica collar
Cape: muslin, embroidered with cotton
Given by Miss Gaster (dress) and Miss S. Cowdell (cape)
V&A: T.63, 114-1973 [2011]

Materials

Muslin; Silk satin

Techniques

Embroidery

Categories

Clothing; Embroidery; Fashion; Marriage; Day wear

Collection code

T&F