Wednesday, March 2

1940s Wedding Dress


As part of the Tamborine Bridal Expo on this last weekend, we currently have this 1949 silk velvet wedding dress on display.



It has classic 40s styling to the bodice and the fabric is absolutely luscious.



Perfect gathers around the bodice....



And at the tops of the sleeves.


Self-covered faux buttons run down the middle from the back of the neck to the waistline....



Whereas the real opening goes in almost a zig zag, around the back left of the waist, up the left side and also down from the waistline a bit. It's a complicated series of hook and eyes and press studs...it could give the term 'bodice ripper' a whole new meaning!


The veil is sewn to the headpiece and both are original to the dress. While I must say I'm personally not into wedding dresses *at all* really this is a beautiful piece of history that is hard not to admire.

As with many vintage garments the attention to detail is superb, the little things like self-piping around the cuffs make it so special. We can date it exactly to 1949, as we have the original box it came in. The box has a big sticker on the lid detailing the original owner, the date of purchase and the shop it came from in Blackpool, England.


And this lovely young lady could have been the bridesmaid! She popped into the shop on Saturday on the way to visit her grandparents and left with this 70s-does-40s chiffon dress and 2 hats. She liked a third hat, so her grandfather came in an hour later and bought it for her.

How sweet is that!

10 comments:

brismod said...

What lovely dresses! x

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

That story is too sweet! I absolutely love the 40s dress!

http://inthehammockvintage.blogspot.com

Helga said...

What an amazing garmet,and a stunning piece of history!
Re your last post,I freakin' LOVE goannas!!! Soooo cute!
And my parents used to have kookaburras and rosellas and all sorts lined up on their balcony for feeding every day! My Mama was a bird nut!!
XXXX

Unknown said...

Beautiful dress and makes is even more specail is the history and the love that comes with it, to have the box and everything to is amazing, i agree with you that vintage dresses have so much attention to detail thats one of the things i love about them, and they always seem to fit so well to. And what a lucky girl in the bottom picture such a lovely dress to, reminded me of the Marylin Monroe dress that classic white one. Have a lovely week, dee x

Vix said...

What a gorgeous dress! I remember reading that they were speciafically designed with a series of complicated button fastenings to make the wedding night more enjoyable.
Much as I loathe weddings I can admire the beauty of that dress and I'd love to see that lucious turquoise number behind that pretty girl at some point, please!!! xxx

Kitty said...

Vix thats a fab maxi with chiffon sleeves you're eyeing off there, its actually green that photo's a bit off-colour, I'll dress Dolly in it one day for you.xx.

doradadama said...

what a a fabolous dress!
love the the velvet and lacy veil.
I adore all vintage wedding dresses..the story behind it is awesome.

DearHelenHartman said...

Could totally see Claudette Colbert in that. Lovely.

Sherry Wray said...

Oh I love the dress! It is amazing that it came in its boxs and the lovely story!!

Christina @ Fashion's Most Wanted said...

Dear Kitty, both dresses are stunning! I'm not into weddings either but I love the dress and headpiece.

I want to come to your shop!! I bet I'd leave with a ton of stuff! Hope you're having a good week xx