City of Armadale - History House > Records

WEDDING DRESS - CREAM

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1944

Overview

Cream wedding dress, made from crepe or possibly silk. At the front it has a smocked round neckline, and a full bodice gathered into a shaped yoke. The skirt is also gathered into the yoke and is full length at front with extended back to form a train. The dress has three quarter length leg of mutton sleeves, gathered with six tucks at the cuff. At the back of neck is a slash with a facing and hook and hand worked closure. The dress has two darts in the back. Under left armhole is a placket with five hooks and hand worked eyes.
There are six tucks at the lower end of the sleeves.
The seams are a mixture of machine and hand stitching, with hand stitching at neck.

Historical information

Worn by Sylvia May Bailey, a local Armadale resident, on her wedding day to Eric Anderson. They were married at St Matthew's Church, Armadale on the 4th of March 1944. Sylvia's bridesmaids were Miss Patsy Bailey and Miss Muriel Griffiths. Eric's groomsmen were Pte Fred Jacobs and Mr Vincent Tomkinson. The dress was purchased from Corot & Co of Perth.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2012.6A

Item type

Costumes

Material

Crepe (Textile)

Width

650 mm

Height or length

1280 mm

Themes

Keywords

Year

1944

Statement of significance

This wedding dress was worn by Sylvia Anderson (nee Bailey) on her wedding day to Eric Anderson. They were married at St Matthew's Church Armadale. Eric was serving with the AIF during World War II.
The dress represents how a marriage over time deteriorated due issues of alcoholism and Post Traumatic Stress from Eric's experiences during World War II. It is a rare example of an items that represents how individuals, society and local laws reacted to issues of domestic violence.

Comparative significance criteria

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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