11 Sept 2024

Member reunited with 18th-century dress at Ramsay exhibition

A smiling lady stands beside an embroidered 18th-century dress displayed on a mannequin in an exhibition room. She is holding an open catalogue that has a black and white photo of her wearing the same dress in the 1960s.

Jane standing beside the dress she modelled in 1969

A National Trust for Scotland member shares her memories of modelling an 18th-century dress in 1969, which is now on display at Edinburgh’s Georgian House.

Jane George, a retired teacher and museum assistant, had modelled the garment for an exhibition organised by Lady Victoria Wemyss of Fife in the late 1960s. Earlier this year, Jane saw an image of the dress in the summer edition of the National Trust for Scotland’s members’ magazine. She then arranged a trip to see it at the Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion exhibition, which runs at the Georgian House until 24 November.

‘It looked exactly as I remembered it,’ she says of the dress. ‘When I looked at it in the exhibition, I really saw how delicate it is, how beautifully made, how exquisite the embroidery is.’

The dress is an original sack-back robe in cream silk damask. It is in pristine condition and is rarely put on public display. Belonging to the Trust’s collection at Newhailes, it is formed of three elements: an open front dress, a petticoat and a stomacher [a triangular panel at the front]. Some adaptations have been made over the years, with hooks and eyes added at some point for ease of use. Jane believes that these modifications were made prior to the 1969 exhibition.

A black and white photo of a young woman in the 1960s wearing a beautiful, embroidered 18th-century dress. The photo is in an exhibition catalogue. Text at the bottom reads: Plate 5, Overdress and skirt | Brocaded cream-coloured silk damask. | About 1760-70 | Sir Mark Dalrymple, Bt.

The front cover of an exhibition catalogue from the 1960s showing a colour photograph of a pink long silk dress. The title is: Clothes from Scottish Houses, 18th-20th century | Picture book.

The models in the 1960s wore underclothes, similar to traditional stays or corsets; the dress is estimated to be around a size 10 in modern measurements. The dress was included in an exhibition called Clothes from the Scottish Houses, 18th–20th century, from October–November 1969, at the Merchants’ Hall in Edinburgh. At the time, Jane worked at the Royal Scottish Museum, now the National Museum of Scotland, where she regularly encountered Lady Victoria. It was in the preparation for the exhibition that Lady Victoria asked Jane and several of her colleagues to model the dresses for photographer Tom Scott, in order to create a catalogue of the clothing.

Jane says: ‘I realise that nowadays you wouldn’t be allowed to model such a garment, so I feel extremely fortunate to have had that opportunity back then.’

Quote

“I don’t remember sitting in it and we didn’t do much walking about in them. We were dressed, the photograph was taken, and that was it. It would have been quite uncomfortable to wear a dress like that for longer.”

Jane George

A member of the National Trust for Scotland since the 1970s, Jane is passionate about the preservation of historical fashion and art. ‘It’s so important to support the National Trust for Scotland, because we’ve got such a rich heritage and culture that we need to keep. I absolutely love going to Malleny Garden. Whenever I’m passing somewhere, I’ll pop in, even if I’ve been there before many times – just to go and see what’s there.’

Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion runs until 24 November 2024. The exhibition is included with admission to the Georgian House, which is free for members. You can find out more about the exhibition and how to book events on the exhibition webpage.