Green & peach wedding dress

Annie Melchior's wedding dress was made in the early 1970s by Daphne Mitten who was part of the Tigermoth Collective at the time. Annie and Daphne have been friends since Elam Art School. "After our graduation, Daphne had gone on to make a name for herself designing and sewing in Tigermoth. The various materials in my wedding dress are all silks that came from my grandfather Ted Betterton's dress factory, Bettawer. I believe these materials would have been manufactured in the late 1930s and 1940s. Grandfather's factory was located in Schofield Street in Grey Lynn, Auckland. The factory was closed in the late 1960s after Ted died and the material that remained in the factory was gathered together by my mother Audrey Betterton." Daphne sketched a design of the dress after they selected the various florals and spotted materials that they felt 'went together'. The style of the dress was all on the cross and the cut responded well to body movement. Annie remembers Daphne's comment: "Netty, you’ll be doing some dancing in this dress." Annie recalls there were a few fittings but mostly Daphne made this dress from the original measurements. "My wedding took place in March in Havelock North, in a private house. The weather can be unseasonably cool and damp, so Daphne also made a beautiful green silk loose fitting bolero jacket to go with the dress, which alas is no longer with me. I have treasured this dress and was able to wear it on a few occasions after my own wedding day."

Details

Credit: Courtesy of Annie Melchior
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Designer: Daphne Mitten
Garment type: Wedding dress
Colour: Green and peach
Exhibition: Occasion: Iconic New Zealand Fashion with a touch of glamour! 1965 - 1975 at Waiheke Community Art Gallery July 2015
Label: Tigermoth
Date: 1970s