Wedding Dress
1883 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This 1883 wedding dress was worn by an unknown bride. It has the fashionable bustled silhouette, and interesting design details shaped by the pleating and draping of the sleek cream silk satin. The bride is likely to have worn it with a lace veil and it is possible that panels of lace were attached to the dress itself. Furthermore, according to the label on the dress, it was made by The Misses Nimmo, a business run by Annie Nimmo. Annie Nimmo was a Scottish dressmaker and business owner born in approximately 1847 in Abercorn, a coastal region near Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents Alexander and Mary Nimmo, lived and worked on the family’s farm where she was one of five children (four girls, one boy).
Following the death of her brother and father in the 1860s and her eldest sister in 1876 it appears that Annie, her two sisters, who were also dressmakers and milliners, alongside her mother relocated to London, all residing at 107 Great Portland Street, Portland Place. This was where the family both lived and Annie conducted her business as a dressmaker under the name The Misses Nimmo. The street on which they lived was just slightly north of Oxford Circus, the heart of the fashion retail industry.
It appears the four Nimmo women lived together in Portland Place between 1880-1890 and during this period were all unmarried. There are several small advertisements from 1887 in a ladies newspaper The Queen - a weekly society magazine focused on high society events and the British aristocracy - which promoted her as ‘court dress maker and milliner’ eponymously and not as the name on the wedding dress label The Misses Nimmo.
According to the 1891 census, Annie no longer lived in Great Portland Street but was lodging with a family just south of the river, near Battersea at the address 23 York Place. The original York Place where Annie lodged has since been renamed Cotton Row. She was unaccompanied by any family members and her occupation was still registered as a dressmaker and milliner and according to the census, she ran her business from her place of residence. From this period onwards, there is little further information regarding Annie Nimmo until her death in December 1906, London, aged approximately 59. It is detailed on the family gravestone in Scotland that she was interred in Teddington, London
Following the death of her brother and father in the 1860s and her eldest sister in 1876 it appears that Annie, her two sisters, who were also dressmakers and milliners, alongside her mother relocated to London, all residing at 107 Great Portland Street, Portland Place. This was where the family both lived and Annie conducted her business as a dressmaker under the name The Misses Nimmo. The street on which they lived was just slightly north of Oxford Circus, the heart of the fashion retail industry.
It appears the four Nimmo women lived together in Portland Place between 1880-1890 and during this period were all unmarried. There are several small advertisements from 1887 in a ladies newspaper The Queen - a weekly society magazine focused on high society events and the British aristocracy - which promoted her as ‘court dress maker and milliner’ eponymously and not as the name on the wedding dress label The Misses Nimmo.
According to the 1891 census, Annie no longer lived in Great Portland Street but was lodging with a family just south of the river, near Battersea at the address 23 York Place. The original York Place where Annie lodged has since been renamed Cotton Row. She was unaccompanied by any family members and her occupation was still registered as a dressmaker and milliner and according to the census, she ran her business from her place of residence. From this period onwards, there is little further information regarding Annie Nimmo until her death in December 1906, London, aged approximately 59. It is detailed on the family gravestone in Scotland that she was interred in Teddington, London
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | silk satin, lace, ribbons, net |
| Brief description | Wedding dress, a bodice and skirt of white satin, made by the Misses Nimmo, 107 Great Portland Street, Portland Place, London, ca. 1885 |
| Physical description | White satin bodice, skirt and collar, bodice fastening in front with spiral buttons, 3/4 length sleeves. Skirt assymetrically draped with horizontal folds across the left hip, very full over the right. Trimmed with lace, ribbons and sprigs of orange blossom, long train edged with bobbin lace. Deep collar of unstitched pin-tucks finished with a pleated frill of net |
| Marks and inscriptions | The Misses Nimmo, 107 Great Portland Street, Portland Place, London (Label on waist stay of bodice) |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Given anonymously |
| Object history | Given anonymously to the Museum with a note dating it to 1883 |
| Summary | This 1883 wedding dress was worn by an unknown bride. It has the fashionable bustled silhouette, and interesting design details shaped by the pleating and draping of the sleek cream silk satin. The bride is likely to have worn it with a lace veil and it is possible that panels of lace were attached to the dress itself. Furthermore, according to the label on the dress, it was made by The Misses Nimmo, a business run by Annie Nimmo. Annie Nimmo was a Scottish dressmaker and business owner born in approximately 1847 in Abercorn, a coastal region near Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents Alexander and Mary Nimmo, lived and worked on the family’s farm where she was one of five children (four girls, one boy). Following the death of her brother and father in the 1860s and her eldest sister in 1876 it appears that Annie, her two sisters, who were also dressmakers and milliners, alongside her mother relocated to London, all residing at 107 Great Portland Street, Portland Place. This was where the family both lived and Annie conducted her business as a dressmaker under the name The Misses Nimmo. The street on which they lived was just slightly north of Oxford Circus, the heart of the fashion retail industry. It appears the four Nimmo women lived together in Portland Place between 1880-1890 and during this period were all unmarried. There are several small advertisements from 1887 in a ladies newspaper The Queen - a weekly society magazine focused on high society events and the British aristocracy - which promoted her as ‘court dress maker and milliner’ eponymously and not as the name on the wedding dress label The Misses Nimmo. According to the 1891 census, Annie no longer lived in Great Portland Street but was lodging with a family just south of the river, near Battersea at the address 23 York Place. The original York Place where Annie lodged has since been renamed Cotton Row. She was unaccompanied by any family members and her occupation was still registered as a dressmaker and milliner and according to the census, she ran her business from her place of residence. From this period onwards, there is little further information regarding Annie Nimmo until her death in December 1906, London, aged approximately 59. It is detailed on the family gravestone in Scotland that she was interred in Teddington, London |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.45,A&B-1947 |
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| Record created | June 22, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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