Wedding Dress
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Object number20706
TitleWedding Dress
DescriptionThis beautiful wedding dress would make any bride glow with happiness. It has many features common to gowns of the 18th century: an open skirt, delicately patterned fabric, elbow-length sleeves edged with gauze ruffles. Even today the colours seem to shine out – the deep blue, crimson red and golden yellow of the pattern contrast with the delicate cream of the bodice and the satin petticoats. The fabric is a costly silk brocade made in Spitalfields, London.
It was made for Annie, the daughter of Provost Thomas Gillespie of Stirling, who married in 1742. Treasured by the family for over 250 years, it was gifted to the Smith in 2004. While the dress was undergoing conservation, it revealed some of its story was revealed.
In the past, wedding dresses continued to be worn for other special events after the big day. And so at some point the wearer must have put her foot through the fragile satin of the petticoat at the front and torn it – the conservator found a very neat repair. She also discovered that the seams of the bodice had been let out during a pregnancy, and then taken back in again.
Production date 1742
Production period18th Century
Object nameDress, Wedding dress