Antique Edwardian court dress worn for King Edward Vll & King George V

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Antique Edwardian court dress worn for King Edward Vll & King George V:
$383.51

I have a refund policy. Please read the details at the foot of this page.

English speakers only please.

'A Gown Madam? An Ensemble? Or perhaps a beautiful skirt? Do browse at your leisure.... For the evening or for visiting, M'Lady? I'm sure we will have something to your liking in the GOWN & COSTUME Department of Poppies Cottage ...'

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Please see the provenance above, which will be sent with the sale, as well as amodern newspaper cutting showing the gown on display at a local exhibition.

Edward Vll was Queen Victoria's eldest son and was born in the early 1840's. He had a long wait to becomeKing in 1901! The Edwardian period is named after him and it ended when he died in 1910.

He was succeeded by George V, who died at the end of the First World War.

Both the dress and train were made by Kate Riley circa 1903.

This is for the dress - the train is listed separately.

This gown can only be called sumptuous.

Profusely embroidered in silk, all by hand, the large floral & leaf design stands proud of the surface, the leaves of the skirt having sequinslaid within, and the flowers of the bodice having tiny diamontes.

As explained above, the Edwardian gown would originally have been a two piece, but you really wouldn't know it - a veryprofessional alteration has been done tocreate a side fastening, v-shaped waist, one piece dress.This gown has always belonged to the wealthy and has been given the very best treatment!

The style reminds us so much of the Edwardian era, the sleeves with their chiffon edges appearing unaltered, and the huge, rounded train, integral to the gown,also appearing original.

Look below the hem and you will find the most adorable ruffled silk chiffon, which links closely to the separate train. [See my other listing].

CONDITION:

*Extremely clean and fresh with just a few tiny marks here and there. One panel of the integral train is dusty, but most of it is very clean indeed.

* Although the ruffled chiffon beneath the hem is in beautiful condition, the silk lining panel just above it is shattering. This is entirely inside and I cannot think why this had happened - perhaps a lesser quality fabric used here.

* The side opening to get the dress on is perfectly fastened with hooks and eyes, but the opening seam has extended beyond the fastens. This always happens with 1930's dresses - how on earth did they get into their clothes!!? Easy to close the seam stitches.

* The embroidery and embellishments [sequins & diamontes] are all very fine and strong, but there is a little discolouration to the sequins if you inspect closely.

* The main problem is both underarms. These are not very discoloured at all, but both have several splits. Someone has done a good job of stabalizing some of this, but it need further work.

Obviously, if you wanted to wear this for your wedding, you would need to re-model the bodice again to remove the underarm damage.

I do really think that this amazing creation should go to a collector so that the provenance lives on. But this will be up to the buyer.

Very difficult to get onto my tiny mannequin because of the side fastening, it will look far more beautiful on the correct size mannequin [add extra hooks & eyes at the side?] However, when measured it is not too small, with a chest of 32" and a wist of 25" [26" at an absolute stretch.]

Do look at the train, and you will understand why I cannot sell them together, but many of the features match.

I am also selling an 1830's bonnet veil separatelytoday, suitable as a short bridal veil.

PLEASE IGNORE UK POSTAGE SHOWN. THE ACTUAL UK POSTAGE IS £12.00. THANK YOU

Please do take a look in my shop if you have the time!

Payment within5 days please. Sorry, no cheques. Paypal only from overseas. Paypal or uncrossed postal order from the UK. No collections for small items.

On 26-Jul-13 at 18:02:45 BST, seller added the following information:

I have today done some basic research into Kate Reily [note spelling]. She was a Court dressmaker, with premises in Dover Street London, and had a high reputation, noted for the professional treatment of staff. [This was rare in the days of appalling treatment of dressmakers]. She may have begun as early as the 1870\'s, but was certainly making finery for the Royals in the 1880\'s. She then went on to open premises in the USA, including New York. I am sure you can discover far more about this Court Dressmaker, but I will send what I have found with the sale. So exciting!