POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Wedding outfit worn by Ann Haslingden (nee Turner)

Object No. 87/533

This wedding dress of silk satin with its full skirt, pointed bodice, large puffed sleeves and boat neckline is an excellent example of the romantic styles of the 1830s. During the 1820s the simple shape of women's clothes began to change. The high waistline descended to its natural position, hemlines became wider and the fashionable small-waisted look was emphasised by exaggerated sleeves which reached their largest size in the 1830s. A corset, layers of stiff petticoats, undersleeves, and a small bustle at the back hips gives this dress its fashionable silhouette. Skirt lengths were shortened to just above the ankle which increased attention on the foot so that shoes became daintier. The dark brown satin slippers that accompany this dress illustrates this. The front of the bodice of this dress is decorated with triangular tabs and four cut-out lozenge shapes, with decorative bows, trimmed with cream satin around neckline, bodice and sleeves. The shoulders have large decorative fabric epaulettes with scalloped edges. The adaptation of military styles into dress was largely due to the legacy of the Napoleonic wars (1793-1815) which saw military ornament translated into trimmings for women's dress. This dress belonged to Miss Ann Turner who came to Australia aged sixteen, suspected of suffering from tuberculosis. On the voyage to Australia she met Edward Haslingden, a merchant, whom she married two years later. Ann wore this dress on her wedding day on the 11th August, 1834. The Australian climate must have suited Ann's health as she lived for 103 years and had nine children. A newspaper clipping from the 2nd January, 1916, celebrating her 100th birthday describes Mrs. Haslingden as '…wonderfully active, mentally and physically for her great age and is still able to read the paper without the aid of glasses'. Rebecca Evans, Assistant Registrar, 2009. References: Joel, Alexandra, 'Parade', Harper Collins, Sydney, 1998 Johnston, Lucy, 'Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail', V&A Publishing, London, 2009. Laver, James, 'A Concise History of Fashion', Thames and Hudson, Norwich, 1969. Rothstein, Natalie (ed.), 'Four Hundred Years of Fashion', V&A Publications, London, 1984 Fletcher, Marion, 'Costume in Australia 1788-1901', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1984 Maynard, Margaret, 'Fashioned From Penury: Dress as cultural Practice in Colonial Australia', Cambridge University Press, Hong Kong, 1984.