Description
This sheer rayon organza wedding gown from the late 1930s is a creamy ivory shade, with darker ecru contrast stitching. The sleeveless gown has a gathered bust (similar to late 1930s and early 1940s lingerie) and a fitted waist, shaped by vertical seaming. The skirt section flares gently out into a full hem, above a semi-cathedral-length train (just under 6.5 feet long, from the back waist seam). The bodice has a shallow V-neckline, and an inverted-V-shaped underbust seam, with gathers between them to add fullness to the bust area. In back, the V-shaped waist seam dips just below the natural waist at the center. This lovely 30s wedding dress originally had short puffed sleeves with small shoulder lifts, a very late 1930s style. Because the underarm areas were damaged, I had my expert seamstress remove the sleeves from the bodice, and then hand-roll and hem the new arm openings. I will include the original sleeves with the dress. The reconstructed sleeveless bodice looks great! I do have even more photos; if you would like to see them, just ask!
The gown fastens at the left side seam with a metal zipper. It is unlined and it does not come with whatever original slip was worn by the previous owner—obviously you will need one. In very good condition, dry-cleaned, and quite wearable, the dress does have some minor issues:
- Overall subtle yellowing to the organza fabric from its long storage.
- 2 small mends at the right side hem (see close-up).
- 1 area of tiny rust-colored marks and 1 small hole/run (probably from being stepped on) at the left side hem.
- This late 30s wedding gown looks quite lovely for its age, and none of these flaws should be very noticeable when it is worn.
Some notes about size: the gown is definitely meant for a petite. I tried it on for length. On me, at 5 feet 2 inches tall, the front hem just touches the floor, without heels. You can see that the dress is too short at the front hem for my tall mannequin. Also, the bust size is somewhat flexible due to the gathers, but it will likely fit approximately a 32D or 34C. (I’m a 34B, and it had a small amount of room in the cup area.) My final photo shows the dress unclipped from the mannequin, to give a better idea of its actual size.
Size: approx. modern S petite.
- Bust: 35 inches flat with some room at cups. Best fit for 32D/34C, or a bit smaller.
- Underbust/high waist seam: 29.5 inches flat, to fit max. 28.5 or smaller.
- Natural waist: 32 inches flat, to fit a bit loosely for 30 or smaller.
- Hips: 50 inches flat (full).
- Length: 54.5 inches from shoulder to hem in front.
- Back of neck to natural waist: 15 inches.
- Underarm to high waist seam (at sides): 5.5 inches.
- High waist seam to hem (at sides): 44 inches.
- Shoulder to shoulder across back bodice: 12 inches.
- Train length: 77 inches from back waist seam.
- Label: none present.
