I have what can only be described as some sort of vintage “disease” which means I will quite happily wear uber summery vintage dresses even on cold October nights….which is precisely what I did on Saturday night for one of my best girls birthdays.
The dress I chose to wear was one of my large collection of Horrockses, although it was one I haven’t actually worn before owing to the fact I originally couldn’t get it done up. I haven’t lost any weight, but after realising if I fiddled around with the position of the dress enough I could actually get it done up! The dress came from the excellent Liz Van Hasselt (you can find her here), I have previously bought some utterly fabulous Delman 1940s shoes from her that are amongst my prized possessions.
The Horrockses is not one I have found an original advert for (yet!) but owing to the shaping of the back I guess it is probably from 1959. I particularly like the flying panel in the back, which means you have more fullness through the back than the front. It also has a Harvey Nicholls label, showing where the dress must have been purchased from! I have to say it is a particularly well made example and is fully lined with a lovely stiff petticoat underneath too. Lets hope by next summer I can still get into it!
My apologies for the twisted strap in the pics, and the general terrible ness of the photos, these are these were just very quick snaps because I wanted an opportunity to shoe the dress off on the blog : ) I teamed the dress with (gulp) poker straight hair, and a pair of trusty 1940s American navy blue suede shoes.
Lovely dress Liz, really one of the best you have ever shown to us, the back is sooo gorgeous. When can we expect new (more wintery) listings from you? (I am sooo cold even from early October)!!!
Best Regards
Valia
I love this dress, it looks beautiful on you! I usually wear my summer dresses as late as I can as I prefer summery vintage dresses to more wintery outfits. I found a Horrockses ad in a 1954 magazine the other day and thought of you. It features a belted gingham dress with a sort of tie up neckline.
How wonderful the dress looks on you Liz! Thank you for the mention. xx
That’s a really beautiful dress! Funny how the modern high street copies never manage to get them as good as the originals!