This fashionable red silk gauze dress was a bold choice for a wedding. It was worn by Monica Maurice (1908-1995) for a quiet marriage to Dr.Arthur Newton Jackson (1904-1985) at the Chapel of Our Lady on Rotheram Bridge in South Yorkshire on 18 June 1938. Monica was an independent and unconventional woman who in 1938 become the first – and until 1978 only – woman member of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers. In addition to her passions for racing cars and flying, she loved to wear striking and stylish clothes. For her wedding she chose a feminine day dress in her favourite colour, a rich ruby red. The sheer dress was worn with a matching artificial silk slip and contrasting deep blue silk belt. She wore a floral wreath with a shoulder-length veil. Although her headdress has not survived and is only visible in black-and-white family photographs, her veil seems to have been either red or blue to match the dress.
For the bride conditioned to think in terms of a traditional Western white-wedding, red is one of the most daring alternative colours. However, in many non-Western cultures, red is traditional for wedding garments. It is often worn by Hindu and Muslim brides, and for Chinese and Vietnamese brides the colour represents good luck.
Physical description
Red silk gauze dress with shirt-waist bodice, button front and short puffed sleeves, mid-calf skirt. Deep blue petersham belt to match the blue glass buttons on the bodice; reversing to red. Slip of red artificial silk
Place of Origin
United Kingdom (made)
Date
early 1938 (made)
18 June 1938 (worn)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
silk gauze over artificial silk, petersham
Dimensions
[Dress] Circumference: 63.5 cm waist, Circumference: 84 cm bust, Circumference: 72 cm diaphragm, Length: 113 cm overall, Length: 39.4 cm to waist, Width: 39 cm centre back, Width: 35.5 cm shoulder to shoulder, Length: 30.5 cm sleeve, over, Length: 13.5 cm sleeve, under, Circumference: 23 cm wrist, Length: 73 cm skirt
[Petticoat] Circumference: 68.5 cm high waist, Circumference: 86 cm bust, Width: 33 cm centre back, Length: 39 cm to waist, Length: 73 cm skirt, Length: 112 cm overall, Length: 31.5 cm straps, Circumference: 100 cm hem, Circumference: 82 cm hip
Object history note
Worn by Helen Monica Maurice (30 June 1908-20 September 1995) for her marriage to Dr. Arthur Newton Jackson (1904-1985) on 18 June 1938 at the Chapel of Our Lady on Rotherham Bridge. The reception was held at Park Grange, Sheffield.
Registered File number 1995/2065.
Descriptive line
Wedding dress, red silk gauze, 1938, British; Red silk gauze, blue buttons
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
Red wedding dress
Britain
1938
Red is an unusual choice for a wedding dress in Britain. Monica Maurice's dress, worn for her wedding to Arthur Jackson in 1938, reflected her pleasure in the colour and her independence. She travelled as an electrical engineer with the Wolf Safety Lamp Company, visiting Germany regularly in the 1930s.
Silk gauze, with artificial silk slip and petersham belt
Worn by Miss Monica Maurice and given by her family
V&A: T.716:1 to 3-1995 [2011]
Materials
Silk; Artificial silk; Petersham
Techniques
Gauze weave
Categories
Fashion; Marriage; Women's clothes
Collection code
T&F
