Summary

Evening dress previously owned by Lady Joan Ansett, wife of prominent Melbourne businessman Sir Reginald Ansett.

A 1950s floor length evening dress, with white net bodice, over yellow, decorated with uniformly scattered iridescent sequins, and floor length skirt of white nylon net, over two layers of yellow net, with an ivory satin lining. Labelled: 'Georges - Rue de La Paix of Collins Street'.

Lady Ansett purchased the dress in the 1950s from the iconic Georges department store in Collins Street, Melbourne.
The dress exemplifies the exclusive and expensive nature of the 'Paris End' of Collins Street. Inspired by the extravagance of Parisian post-war fashions, Georges' Rue de la Paix custom gowns were popular among Melbourne's well-heeled society women. Lady Ansett's dress features a layered skirt of white and yellow tulle beneath a beaded and sequinned bodice with a scalloped neckline.

The dress is accompanied by a photograph of Lady Ansett wearing it. She is arriving at a function, possibly at Government House in Melbourne, with Sir Reg Ansett.

Physical Description

A 1950s floor length evening dress, with white net bodice, over yellow, decorated with uniformly scattered iridescent sequins, and floor length skirt of white nylon net, over two layers of yellow net, with an ivory satin lining.

Significance

One of four clothing items acquired in 2006 for their ability to evoke the explosion of consumerism taking place in Melbourne in the post-war period, as well as their links to the 'Golden Age' of the `Paris End' of Collins Street. The garment labels (Rue de La Paix - Street of Peace) allude to the French influence (particularly from Christian Dior's New Look) that dominated `moneyed Melbourne' after the war, as well as to the demise of the shackles of clothing rationing by 1950, which had strictly controlled the amounts of fabrics and kinds of decorations that clothing could contain.

Three of the items are from the iconic Georges Department Store, whilst the top hat is from the renowned menswear store Henry Bucks, both of which were (in the case of Henry Bucks still is) operating in Collins Street for over a century.

The four items are also significant as they come fully provenanced to Sir Reginald and Lady Joan Ansett, the patriarch and matriarch of one of Melbourne's most prominent business families. The floor length evening gown and the top hat both come with original photographs of them being worn.

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