Wedding Dress
Category
Costume
Date
1954
Materials
tafitta and tulle
Measurements
137 x 115 cm
Collection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 438085
Caption
In May 1954 the Grantham Journal described the marriage of the Hon. Caroline Cust (1928–2015) to John Arthur Christie as ‘the Wedding of the Year’. Two thousand people gathered to watch the happy couple leave the church together, before they departed to Belton House for a lavish reception. Cust’s dress, a spectacle made of white lace and silver thread, was designed by Mary Donan, a designer and court dressmaker well loved by the debutantes of high society. Cust paired the gown with a silver coronet, lent by her cousin. Donan’s design is typical of the time. By 1954 designers had embraced the fitted bodices and full skirts of Dior’s ‘New Look’, no longer limited by restrictions on fabrics. Donan married glamour and style with an understanding of the refined elegance expected from members of the aristocracy. The sleeves and part of the bodice are missing from the wedding dress. Even in aristocratic families, parts of dresses were reused and remade, and it is possible that elements of this one were recycled into a new piece. Helen Antrobus
Summary
Wedding dress by Mary Donan, worn by Caroline Cust on the occasion of her wedding in 1954. Dress is of white and cream taffeta embroidered with silver thread, with underskirt of tulle.
Provenance
Gifted by Sophia Waltham, daughter of Hon. Mrs Caroline Partridge nee Cust.
Marks and inscriptions
On inside neckline : Mary Donan 45, Duke St., London, W1
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 190-191.