This Horrockses Fashions dress was manufactured locally by California Productions (NZ) Ltd. Horrockses Fashions was a British label established in 1946 by Horrockses, Crewdson Company Ltd, a cotton textile producer. Their ready-to-wear, crisp cut and colourfully printed cotton dresses quickly found a ready audience. In 1952 the company offered Queen Elizabeth II a Horrockses wardrobe of their designs, which they thought were ideally suited to the climate on her upcoming Commonwealth tour of Australia, Tonga and New Zealand. This created a demand for Horrockses dresses from retailers in Australasia, who predicted that women would want to emulate the young Queen’s style.