This silk day dress was made by London fashion house Mascotte. Mascotte of 89 Park street was one of the great houses of the Edwardian period and like the house of Lucile, a much more famous contemporary, was run by a Society Woman, Mrs Cyril Drummond. This dress was worn by Miss Heather Firbank (1888-1954) and is part of a collection of well over 100 pieces of her clothing acquired by the museum in 1960. The collection spans from around 1905-mid 1920s and includes garments by many of the top fashion houses of the period including Lucile, Redfern and Reville and Rossiter. Items from Miss Firbank's wardrobe can also be found in the collections of the Museum of London, Northampton Museum and The Costume Gallery in Manchester which has a near identical Mascotte dress formerly owned by Heather.

This dress shows the new slim line and tubular skirt of the 1910s. Its almost austere appearance is made more feminine with the addition of a double line of self fabric decorative buttons down the front and at the cuffs and a purple cord sash which ties around the waist and falls at one side. Decorative ties such as these were highly fashionable and demonstrate an Eastern influence which remained popular until the outbreak of war in 1914.