Dress

This delicate evening gown of lilac silk and silk chiffon trimmed with lace was worn by Miss Heather Firbank (1888-1954) in her early 20s. Miss Firbank lived in Mayfair and was presented at court by her mother in 1908. Debutantes were expected to wear light-coloured feminine dresses such as this and it is likely that this garment was worn during Heather's first Society Season.
Little is known about the maker Pickett, but their Saville Row address and exquisite workmanship suggests it was a dressmakers of the highest quality. The V&A acquired well over 100 garments from Miss Firbank's wardrobe in 1960 the majority of which were bought from the best London dress makers and tailors of the first two decades of the twentieth century. The collection traces not only Heather's changes in taste and lifestyle but also the changing silhouette from the pouched bodice and corseted waist of the Edwardian period to the straighter, looser styles of the 1920s.