Wedding dress

A navy blue grosgrain rayon dress which was worn as a wedding dress in 1953. The dress has a very full skirt, lined with net and nipped in waist with a separate white sash which is worn tied around the waist. The bodice has raglan short sleeves and the neckline has a contrasting white pointed collar. A label on the inside centre neck reads 'Alma Leigh'.

The dress was bought from 'Leaders of Fashion' boutique on Commercial Street, in Leeds. The owner chose to buy a navy dress and not a white dress so that she could continue to wear the dress for dancing after the wedding.

In the early 1950s the effects of the Second World War and Austerity measures meant there were still great shortages in fabric and people continued to have to be very resourceful in order to keep up with the latest fashions.