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Wedding Dress thumbnail 2
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Wedding Dress

1926 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dress was worn by Erica Ferguson for her wedding to Herbert Barker at St Mary's Church on 14th January 1926.

Bought in the London department store Debenham & Freebody, the dress, and the headdress she wore with it, demonstrate the development of the wedding fashion industry. Shop bought and ready to wear options became more widely available at this time, meaning brides were not limited to designer, dressmaker or home made designs.

The dress's colour and fabric were very fashionable in 1926. Due to its floral design, the semi-transparent train leaves a shadow pattern on the floor underneath it, which would have moved with the bride as she walked up the aisle.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Dress: silk chiffon velvet; wax. Train: Silk chiffon velvet and metal lace
Brief description
Silk chiffon velvet wedding dress with attached train, by Debenham & Freebody, London, 1926.
Physical description
Wedding dress made from pale gold silk chiffon velvet woven in a pattern of leaves and branches, with a train, attached at the shoulders, made from the same silk chiffon velvet and a panel of gold metal lace. The ankle-length dress is loose and tunic-shaped, with a round neckline, short sleeves and dropped waist. The waist is marked by a double girdle made from a band of embroidered faux pearls and a band of clear pastes. A small bunch of wax orange blossom is attached to the left shoulder. The attached rectangular train is made from the same fabric with a panel of metal lace, cut to form an inverted 'V', running from the upper back to the hem.
Dimensions
  • Nape of neck to hem length: 128cm
  • Train length: 212cm
Production typesmall batch
Gallery label
Department Store Dress - When Erica Ferguson became engaged to Herbert Barker. she purchased her wedding dress and headdress from the London department store Debenham & Freebody. The fabric and colour of the dress, and its semi-transparent train, were extremely fashionable in 1926. The wedding took place at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon.
Credit line
Given by Susanna Robinson in memory of Ruth Robinson
Object history
This dress was worn by Erica Ferguson for her wedding to Herbert Barker at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon, in 1926. Erica had bought the dress from the London department store Debenham & Freebody. The dress's colour and fabric, and its semin-transparent train, would have made it a very fashionable choice at the time.
Association
Summary
This dress was worn by Erica Ferguson for her wedding to Herbert Barker at St Mary's Church on 14th January 1926.

Bought in the London department store Debenham & Freebody, the dress, and the headdress she wore with it, demonstrate the development of the wedding fashion industry. Shop bought and ready to wear options became more widely available at this time, meaning brides were not limited to designer, dressmaker or home made designs.

The dress's colour and fabric were very fashionable in 1926. Due to its floral design, the semi-transparent train leaves a shadow pattern on the floor underneath it, which would have moved with the bride as she walked up the aisle.
Associated object
T.16:2-2013 (Ensemble)
Collection
Accession number
T.16:1-2013

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Record createdMay 2, 2013
Record URL
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