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Christening gown and petticoat

Christening gown and petticoat

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (made)

  • Date:

    1900-1920 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Linen, trimmed with embroidery, lace and ribbon

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Christine Boardman, on behalf of her parents Mr and Mrs Frederick Hazel

  • Museum number:

    MISC.217&A-1982

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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Over the years this Christening gown has gained the nickname of ‘The Bin Dress’ because an observant member of the donor’s family pulled it out of a dustbin in the early 1930s and rescued it for further use. It is unlikely that the Museum will ever know the true story of its presence in the bin: perhaps a dispute or even a tragedy, or maybe by then it was simply too old-fashioned? Its lace decoration is in a style that was particularly fashionable around 1900, but by the 1930s, when the dress was thrown away, the latest Christening robes were often much shorter than this and made of synthetic fabrics that were easier to iron.

Physical description

[Christening gown] Christening gown of fine white linen, with a round drawstring neck and full, wrist-length sleeves, all with lace edging. The bodice is embroidered and pin-tucked, with lace insertions, and the long skirt has matching trimming, finishing with a lace-edged frill. The cuffs, waist, skirt and frill are all decorated with whitework threaded with pink ribbon. The garment fastens at the back with three buttons and stitched buttonholes, and the free ends of the ribbon insertion at the waist.
[Christening petticoat] Christening petticoat of fine white linen, with a rounded neck and curved armholes, all edged with lace and white embroidery. The long skirt is finished with pin-tucks and a scalloped lace edging, and the garment fastens at the back with drawstrings at neck and waist, and two buttons with stitched buttonholes.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1900-1920 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Linen, trimmed with embroidery, lace and ribbon

Dimensions

[Christening gown] Length: 101 cm centre back
[Christening petticoat] Length: 91.5 cm centre back

Object history note

The gown apparently came from the Old Welwyn/ Codicote area and was found in a dustbin by a member of the family of the donors. It was subsequently used for numerous christenings in the family, beginning with Mr & Mrs Hazel's children Mary (born ca. 1934), Frederick (born ca. 1935) and Christine (born 1951). In the next generation it was worn by Mary's children Alan (born ca. 1955), Martin (born ca. 1957), Susan (born ca. 1960) and John (born ca. 1961); Frederick's children Karen (born ca. 1958), Jeoff (sic) (born ca. 1960), Jackie (born ca. 1962) and Diane (born ca. 1963); and Christine's daughter Emily (born ca. 1979), although not her son Daniel (born ca. 1974) presumably because of modern feeling in some families against dressing a boy in a gown.

Descriptive line

White linen Christening gown and petticoat made in England between 1900 and 1920

Materials

Linen; Lace; Ribbon; Embroidery silks

Categories

Children's clothes

Collection code

MoC

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Qr_O93876
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