Wedding Dress
1916 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This extremely fashionable wedding dress was worn by Grace Allen Nash for her marriage to Sydney O'Connell Finigan at St George's, Hanover Square, London, on 8 June 1916, in the middle of the First World War.
The war years of 1914-1918 were a very interesting transistory period for women's fashions. At the beginning of the decade, dresses were full length and often rigidly corseted. During the war years, skirts became shorter and fuller, and the fit of bodices gradually became more relaxed. Fabrics also became lighter. These changes are all reflected in Grace's wedding dress. Made from thin, crisp silk taffeta and feather-light silk net, the dress has a lightly fitted bodice. The mid-calf length skirt is semi-full, composed of billowing puffs of silk and multiple flounces of net. A fichu of gossamer-fine silk net lightly drapes the V neckline.
During the First World War, soldiers away at war were encouraged to think about their sweethearts waiting for them at home. Delicate, romantic dresses like this emphasised the gentle, feminine qualities a wife was supposed to exemplify, offering newly-married soldiers a romantic image to take with them to the battlefields.
The war years of 1914-1918 were a very interesting transistory period for women's fashions. At the beginning of the decade, dresses were full length and often rigidly corseted. During the war years, skirts became shorter and fuller, and the fit of bodices gradually became more relaxed. Fabrics also became lighter. These changes are all reflected in Grace's wedding dress. Made from thin, crisp silk taffeta and feather-light silk net, the dress has a lightly fitted bodice. The mid-calf length skirt is semi-full, composed of billowing puffs of silk and multiple flounces of net. A fichu of gossamer-fine silk net lightly drapes the V neckline.
During the First World War, soldiers away at war were encouraged to think about their sweethearts waiting for them at home. Delicate, romantic dresses like this emphasised the gentle, feminine qualities a wife was supposed to exemplify, offering newly-married soldiers a romantic image to take with them to the battlefields.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk taffeta and net, and trimmed with ribbon |
| Brief description | Wedding dress of silk taffeta, designd by Violet Tripp, London, 1916 |
| Physical description | Wedding dress of lightweight cream silk taffeta, mid-calf length. The bodice buttons down the back with large self-covered buttons and the bust darts are accented with braided rouleaux. Elbow length sleeves. Light silk tulle fichu attached to the neckline to drape around the V-neckline. Peg-topped skirt elaborately draped and puffed to simulate a looped-up overskirt with an underskirt of layered tiers of silk tulle ruffles. The bodice interior is trimmed with blue ribbon. |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs J. Blair and Mrs D. Street |
| Object history | This dress was worn by Grace Allen Nash for her marriage to Sydney O'Connell Finigan at St George's, Hanover Square, London, on 8 June 1916. |
| Summary | This extremely fashionable wedding dress was worn by Grace Allen Nash for her marriage to Sydney O'Connell Finigan at St George's, Hanover Square, London, on 8 June 1916, in the middle of the First World War. The war years of 1914-1918 were a very interesting transistory period for women's fashions. At the beginning of the decade, dresses were full length and often rigidly corseted. During the war years, skirts became shorter and fuller, and the fit of bodices gradually became more relaxed. Fabrics also became lighter. These changes are all reflected in Grace's wedding dress. Made from thin, crisp silk taffeta and feather-light silk net, the dress has a lightly fitted bodice. The mid-calf length skirt is semi-full, composed of billowing puffs of silk and multiple flounces of net. A fichu of gossamer-fine silk net lightly drapes the V neckline. During the First World War, soldiers away at war were encouraged to think about their sweethearts waiting for them at home. Delicate, romantic dresses like this emphasised the gentle, feminine qualities a wife was supposed to exemplify, offering newly-married soldiers a romantic image to take with them to the battlefields. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.415-1996 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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