item details
NameDress, child's
ProductionKate Greenaway Frock; manufacturer(s); circa 1950s; New Zealand
Dan River Fabric; manufacturer(s); 1950s
Dan River Fabric; manufacturer(s); 1950s
Classificationdresses
Materialscotton
Techniquesmachine sewing
DimensionsCentre back: 700mm (length)
Registration NumberGH017176
Credit lineGift of Shelley Venimore (née O'Brien), 2011
Overview
A 'Kate Greenaway' 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 made 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 is a 'Kate Greenaway' branded dress, made in New Zealand from Dan River fabric. Shelley O'Brien wore this dress when she was about 10 years old.