Dress, child's

item details

NameDress, child's

ProductionPoppet Wear; manufacturer(s); circa 1950s; New Zealand

Classificationdresses

Materialscotton

Techniquesmachine sewing

DimensionsCentre back: 760mm (length)

Registration NumberGH017172

Credit lineGift of Shelley Venimore (née O'Brien), 2011

Overview

Best dress

This dress is part of an extraordinary collection of 21 children's dresses and home-made dress-ups worn in the 1950s and 60s by the O'Brien children – Shelley, Maureen, and David. The dresses represent popular girls' fashion from this period, and include a range of home-made garments, and garments manufactured in New Zealand and USA.

The collection embodies the story of the three children growing up in Tinui, a rural community near Castlepoint in the Wairarapa, with all the rituals, triumphs, hardships, and joys of a rural life.

This particular dress was manufactured in New Zealand by the very popular label 'Poppet Wear', which used designers Colin Cole and Isabel Harris. This dress was a Desmond Reevely production. It was regarded as a best dress, worn by both Shelley and Maureen.