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Overview
This wedding dress is an elegant example of how beautifully a bride might be dressed on, what was considered in the 1950s, one of the most important days of her life. Full-length, full-skirted white or cream wedding dresses made from sumptuous fabrics and trimmings were very fashionable.
The dress was worn by Wendy Evans, the daughter of H. L (Mick) Evans who owned the drapery store Evans Co in Cuba Street, Wellington. Wendy's mother, Vida Evan’s, selected the fabric, a delusted silk satin, from Thomsons Silk Shop, Wellington’s premier fabric store. Marie Little, a dress maker who worked from premises on the corner of Garrett and Cuba streets, made both Wendy and her sister Gwyn’s wedding gowns.
Young brides
This style of wedding dress tended to suit younger women, who made up the majority of brides. In 1961, half of all women in New Zealand married before turning 22.
Feminine fashion
Women's fashion generally had started to become more feminine from the late 1940s. This was partly in reaction to the austerity and rationing of the war years, and partly influenced by Christian Dior's 'New Look', as it became known, which appeared in 1947.