Black evening gown (bodice and skirt)

This evening dress was made in London, England for the Christchurch department store, J Ballantyne & Co.  The label inside the bodice reads: 'London / J Ballentyne & Co / New Zealand'.

The bodice features a wide neckline that is adjustable by an internal cord. It is elaborately adorned with ruched fine ribbon and lace, and pleats at the centre front, which is pointed. The bodice fastens at the centre back with two rows of metal hooks and eyes (11 and 3). The bodice is boned and lined with fine silk.

The skirt features six rows of decorative stitching just below the waist, eight rows of small ruffles at the hip, eight rows of small ruffles above the knee, and four rows of horizontal pleats at the hem. The skirt is lined with black cotton. The lining features a trim of accordion pleats at the hem.

J Ballantyne & Co

John Ballantyne was born in 1825 in Selkirk Scotland, and trained as a draper. He emigrated to Sydney in 1852 where he worked for Messrs McArthur Kingsbury & Cobefore establishing his own business in Adelaide. He subsequently decided to move to New Zealand, where he purchased Dunstable House in Christchurch in 1872. Dunstable House had been founded in 1854 by Esther Clarkson, a milliner, and her husband Thomas in the front room of their small Cashel Street cottage, and was named after her hometown. Seven years later, John Ballantyne left the businnes to take up farming. The business was carried on in Ballantyne's name by a series of partnerships, which at various times included his three sons.