A Surprise Find

Last week I decided to sort out my attic. This decision was not taken lightly; my attic has been used as a dumping ground for the last twenty years and sorting through it all didn’t exactly fill me with enthusiasm. In light of this, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found this beautiful, Victorian baby’s dress whilst emptying a particularly heavy box. I vaguely remember receiving a bag of heirlooms from my mother quite a few years ago but as the majority of the contents failed to have a place in the house, it ended up in the attic with everything else.

From the design of the dress I can only guess it was my great-great-grandmothers. I know that the Victorians liked t

o

accessorise their children and a lot of their clothes were intricately designed. This simply designed dress makes me think that it was most likely an undergarment or a night dress. The length of the dress is also typically Victorian and I was thrilled to see that the delicate buttons were still in their original state; tiny ro

und circles of mother of pearl.

It’s lovely to see that a handmade garment of considera

ble age has managed to make it through the generations; I will feel extremely proud to hand down such a beautiful family heirloom to my children and I hope that in time, they will pass it on to their own.