Horrockses pink cherry dress 1950s

Printed cotton dress with cotton muslin lining and inbuilt petticoat
1950s
England
By Horrockses of London
This pretty summer dress is made from glazed plain weave cotton lined with a bleached white muslin cotton. The summery cherry pattern is typical of Horrockses floral printed cotton produced in the cotton mills in Preston

Other information
The dress is in the New Look style inspired by Christian Dior’s La Corolle collection launched in 1947. The skirt is given extra fullness from a built in, but detached muslin petticoat.

Horrockses was a household name in the 40s and 50s producing off the peg summer dresses. John Horrocks set up a cotton goods company in Preston, England in the late 18th century (1791). The fashion collection was created as an initiative to use and sell the fabric. Celebrities and even royalty were noted fans and the brand was given a royal warrant in the 1960s. In the 70s and 80s, Horrockses dresses went out of fashion and the company passed into obscurity. The company has been resurrected and is selling a range of bed linen.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/house-and-homes-blog/gallery/2011/aug/30/horrockses-fashion
Horrockses was founded in 1791 in Preston, UK as a cotton manufacturer. In 1946 the company started Horrockses Fashions Limited and the Horrockses label was born. The clothing was designed by designers in London, using the cotton that was designed and produced by the Horrockses Mill in Preston. Most of their garments were made from their cotton, but they also used other fibers that were bought from other makers.
During the 1950s, Horrockses was famous for their colorful cotton floral prints, which were made into full-skirted summer dresses. These dresses were popular not only in Britain where they were made, but they were also imported into the US, where they could be found at upscale stores such as B. Altman. The dresses, even though they were only cotton day dresses, were not cheap and were very well made. The company worked at improving the image of cotton and they were very successful.
The company’s top designers left in 1958 and the company was sold to Steinberg & Sons in 1964. The label was discontinued in 1983.
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/horrockses/