For Fearless and Witwicky

[Witwicky]

Eeep it's so beautiful! I love it. I love that it has history and memories woven into it. Just stunning!

[Witwicky]

Yes, I got a lovely card with it from the lady on eBay who sold it to me. Here's what it said:

"Sent to you with our love and best wishes for your wedding and the start of a new part of your lives together [obviously they assumed I was buying it to get married in, in fact at that I just wanted to have it and didn't know I would in fact wear it to my wedding two years later] is this beautiful and treasured family wedding dress from the famously divine matildasisterhood [their eBay name]. It is unique and one of a kind heavily embroidered for a wedding in late December 1919 - after the WW1 Armistace.

The dress comes from a pioneering family from the northern wheat belt of WA - Mullewa. From the farm (where actor Ernie Dingo was born) Esther May spent her married life in Perth, as great uncle Bertie was a barrister.

Uncle Bert married Esther May and this was her Flapper and oh so out-there wedding dress. Great Aunt Esther wore a silk petticoat and her white silk stockings were tied over her knees and she wore white sating shoes. Her hair was cut radically sort and wavy with a Clara Bow styling.

Esther was rather poorly educated by our standards today - however she was famous in the family for two things:

*She has the best legs I've ever seen. I can remember her in her 80s dancing the "Three Penny Waltz" at Christmas. Her pins were to kill for - so no wonder she wore the fabulous and out-there wedding dress!

*She was also a superb seamstress and could crochet up a storm (as the dress attests) and although she didn't have a lot of formal education was sharp, talented and after looking at a picture of an outfit, dress or knitted or crocheted garment, would and could make it!

The family rode out the Great War, The Great Depression and the family farm being gambled away in a card game, and like great aunt Esther May, settled and grew up in Perth.

Morgana, my sister, and I inherited the artistic ability of Esther and the collector's bug and 'eye' from Bertie. We have become the family's self-appointed curators and they also revere us for our persistence to treasure family and WA and Australian antiques.

The dress has chosen you and we are delighted!

Althugh you have bought the dress from us and fashion can be bought; style one must possess. You have great style and we are truly honoured that you love our divinematildahood dress - a true and living example of memories sewn together with heartstrings.

We send our love and best wishes to you both. May God bless your lives together and we wish you both every happiness.

Morgana and Victoria Morgan

I love the story! I took the dress to a place in Sydney that sells antique and very old vintage pieces and the lady there confirmed the age was as they had said. She said it is probably made out of a curtain stitched together with lace from something else - that after the War there was very little nice fabric around so they often used curtains or other household fabrics to create special occasion clothes. In my wedding speech I said I was the only person I knew who'd got married in a curtain

That's an incredible story.

[tiggerfields]

That's an incredible story.

Thanks, I love her and it was really special to marry The One in a dress that was already meaningful.

[MamaC]

Wow! What an absolutely stunning dress with an amazing story
Thank you for sharing

[FearlessLeader]

After watching Downton Abbey last night it sort of dawned on me that the maker/wearer must have been one wild and ballsy lady to wear that dress in Perth in 1919. What a legend!

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