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Here comes the bride… from 1928

blackmorevaleJanuary 17, 20210 Comment0

A ‘hugely important addition’ has been made to Blandford Fashion Museum.

When Miss Violet Blewden married Walter Sadler on July 2, 1928, she wore a ‘coffee-blush coloured, silk chiffon wedding costume’. The stunning knee length dress boasted long sleeves and two layers, an integral plain weave sewn in silk foundation or ‘underdress’, with a shaped camisole strapped top, and a silk chiffon outer dress trimmed with looped ribbon at the collar, cuffs and hem.

The outer dress has a dropped waistline, covered by a band and metal and diamante trimmed bow, below which are six rows of gathering stitches. This beautiful dress was donated to Blandford Fashion Museum by one of Violet’s friends.

Blandford Fashion Museum prides itself on ‘telling the story’, as Stella Walker, the museum’s curator explained in a letter to the textile conservator in support of a

grant application after the dress, which was in need of some repair, was generously donated.

Along with the dress, the donor added a photograph of the bride on her wedding day together with a picture of a cake decoration, card and box and a blue ribbon bow and colourful feathers, which were believed to have been worn by a bridesmaid. At present the museum is unable to display this costume, due to its delicate nature. So, conservation is essential to allow it to be briefly on show and for its preservation.

The donor wishes the costume to be ‘made safe’ for temporary display on a suitably sized mannequin with careful handling remaining vital to preserve the ‘extremely fragile’ fabric. Blandford Fashion Museum has no other surviving example of this type of 1920s costume. Once a grant has been obtained and the dress has been returned to the museum, there will be a brief window of opportunity for the public to come and view another fascinating piece of social history complete with its social context.

Carole Fornachon