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Wedding dress
  • Wedding dress
    Hartnell, Norman, born 1901 - died 1979
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Wedding dress

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (made)

  • Date:

    1951 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Hartnell, Norman, born 1901 - died 1979 (designer)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Embroidered satin, pearls, silver, crystals and sequins, nylon net, taffeta

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Mrs H. S. Ball

  • Museum number:

    T.217&A-1972

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

  • Image in copyright

This wedding gown was created by the leading London couturier, Norman Hartnell. His workshops excelled in creating the rich embroideries which typify the designer's work. The pearl and silver embroidery bordering the deep V-neck of the dress is reflected in the sweeping band of embroidery on the skirt. To retain the line, the skirt is lined with buckram and weighted around the hem. Further support is provided by a stiffened petticoat.

Wedding dresses were often altered to become evening wear but fortunately this design survived intact. It was worn by Hermione Wills when she married Mervin Evans on 23 July 1951. The bride's mother, Mrs. Cecil Wills, was a good friend of Hartnell, and later became one of the directors of his fashion house.

Physical description

Wedding dress of embroidered satin and taffeta petticoat.

Dress of pearl satin with a 'princess' neckline, short sleeves and full flared skirt. The collar and the skirt are trimmed with bands of embroidery, silver, pearls, crystals and sequins arranged in a floral design, contained by cross cut bands. The dress fastens with a zip at the centre back. The dress is mounted on a fairly coarse nylon net. With a train.

Taffeta petticoat stiffened with two bands of nylon woven crinoline.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1951 (made)

Artist/maker

Hartnell, Norman, born 1901 - died 1979 (designer)

Materials and Techniques

Embroidered satin, pearls, silver, crystals and sequins, nylon net, taffeta

Dimensions

[Wedding petticoat] Circumference: 74 cm waist, Length: 99 cm front, Length: 104 cm back, Circumference: 434 cm hem
[Wedding dress] Circumference: 71.5 cm waist, Circumference: 98 cm bust, Length: 43 cm to waist, Length: 111 cm skirt, front, Length: 178 cm skirt, back, Width: 39 cm centre back, Length: 223 cm overall, Length: 11 cm sleeve, under, Length: 20.5 cm sleeve, over, Circumference: 32 cm sleeve opening

Object history note

Worn by the donor, then Miss Hermione Wills at her marriage to Merfyn Evans at St. Marks, N Audley Street on 23 July 1951. Her mother, Mrs Cecil Wills was an early friend and later a director of Norman Hartnell.

The dress was specially designed by Hartnell for the bride. The embroidery and decoration on the front of the dress includes a bare spot of fabric between the bands of ornament on the neckline and skirt. This was designed specifically for a diamond brooch which is visible in the wedding photographs. When worn, the brooch connected the sweeping bands of embroidery and created an unbroken curve of sparkling ornamentation around the neckline and skirt.

Hermione Wills met Merfyn Evans during a round-the-world voyage. He was the chief officer of a cargo boat called The Javanese Prince, and she was a paying passenger. They became engaged within 48 hours of their meeting. Sadly, Merfyn died a few years after the wedding. His widow remarried an Army man, Mr. Ball, and they lived in Malaysia. She wore a deep blue lace, long-sleeved, mid-calf length cocktail dress (also by Norman Hartnell) for the second wedding with a matching coat. The going-away costume, by Hartnell, was cafe-au-lait silk woven with velvet wavy-lines, with a darker cafe-au-lait coat.

Descriptive line

Wedding dress of embroidered satin and taffeta petticoat, designed by Norman Hartnell, England, 1951

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

De la Haye, Amy (ed.). The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947- 1997. London, England: V&A Publications, 1997.

Exhibition History

The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947-1997 (Victoria and Albert Museum 06/03/1997-27/07/1997)
Unveiled: 200 years of wedding glamour from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 17/12/2011-11/04/2012)
The White Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashions (Bendigo Art Gallery 01/08/2011-06/11/2011)

Labels and date

Norman Hartnell's workshops excelled in the creation of deeply encrusted embroidry with pronounced floral circlets. The pearl and silver embroidery on the shawl-like collar is repeated on the skirt in a sweeping band. To retain the line, the skirt is stiffened with buckram and weighted around the hem. Wedding dresses were often altered to become evening wear but fortunately this design survivied intact. [1997]
Embroidered wedding dress
Norman Hartnell (1901-79)
London
1951

Norman Hartnell's royal commissions included Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress in 1947. They made him Britain's most distinguished couturier. He excelled at special occasion dresses incorporating embroidery. For Hermione Wills's wedding dress, a sweeping band of embroidery is used to elongate the body and add grandeur to the back of the full skirt.

Silk embroidered with beads and sequins
Given and worn by Mrs H.S. Ball for her marriage to Mervyn Evans, 23 March 1951
V&A: T.217&A-1972 [2011]

Production Note

Originally attributed by the museum as 1957, the donor called in 1997 to correct the date to 1951

Reason For Production: Commission

Materials

Nylon; Satin; Beads

Techniques

Weaving; Embroidering; Sewing; Piping

Subjects depicted

Flowers

Categories

Textiles; Embroidery; Fashion; Marriage; Women's clothes

Production Type

Haute couture

Collection code

T&F

Qr_O83587
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