Dress for a girl of around 4 years old, in blue lemon yellow and white horizontal stripes with hand smocking in blue white and red, made by Marks & Spencers. St Michael brand, England, 1950s

cotton dress in blue, lemon yellow and white horizontal striped fabric with hand smocked front in blue white and red thread. The dress, for a little girl of about 4 years old has a slight capped sleeve and a high square collar. The dress fastens by 4 plastic buttons down the back of the dress reaching to the waist. There is also an attached sash . The skirt is pleated and flares out sitting around the knee. There is an internal pocket on the right hand proper side of the dress.

Given by Elizabeth Devas

'I grew up in Bexhill, the youngest of 6 children of Catholic parents. We lived in a big house not far from the sea. My father was an orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Hastings and my mother did not work outside the house. Sunday we would go to Mass and we were expected to wear our best clothes. I was about 4 when I wore these dresses, young enough to still need help (from an au pair) getting dressed. I would wear them to church or parties and I remember being uncomfortable in them, not because they were hand-me downs from my sister - I was indifferent to that - but because I felt so self conscious in them. My mother would gush about how adorable I looked and wearing them meant that I had to behave in a straightened way. Being the child in the dress made me feel as if this was my mother's preferred version of me and whilst i wanted her smile it did not feel natural to me.'

The donor, Elizabeth, wore this and two other donated dresses when she was about 4 years old in 1952-3. The dresses, all in a similar style from Marks & Spencer, are hand smocked and use pretty striped fabrics typical of girl’s dresses from the 1950s. Elizabeth was one of six children and these dresses were hand-me-downs to here from one of her sisters. The dresses were worn for weekly Mass and for other special occasions and Elizabeth recalls that she felt quite formal and uncomfortable wearing them despite her mother’s fondness for how adorable they made her look.

B.162-2011