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Overview
This Edwardian-inspired wedding dress was made by Beverley Gordine (1934 - 2015) for her wedding in 1975.
Gordine was an experienced and talented dressmaker, particularly of wedding dresses, and kept a detailed archive of her work from the 1950s to 1970s, including photographs and correspondence with the brides she worked with.
She began her career as a dressmaker in Auckland in the 1950s. She was apprenticed to Alice L. Thomas who had established an exclusive dressmaking business in Vulcan Lane, Auckland, in the 1930s.
Though largely untrained, Gordine had a flair for cutting and reproducing garments in the style of overseas fashions. She was an excellent hand sewer, and could handle fine beadwork, grafting of lace (so that a garment appeared seamless), and other precise and delicate needlework. Formal dresses often required such skills.
After a serious illness, Gordine worked on her own making mainly wedding and formal dresses, and became an embroiderer later on.