The Ball Dress

In 1955 I was half-way through a Teacher Training course at Bletchley Park College. We were housed in some of the old wartime buildings. We knew nothing of its recent history. That didn't become known until the seventies.

I made the dress for the annual Summer Ball in June 1955. The circular skirt was very popular then, but the skirt on this dress is even bigger than a full circle. In order to make the skirt stand out and keep the shape, we wore lots of petticoats which were mostly waist petticoats and were often tiered, the last tier being very tightly gathered and made of several layers of net.

We usually wore long gloves to formal events.

Rosemary Harrison