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Women's white cotton sash

Date1890 - 1900

Object number00018338

NameSash

MediumCotton

DimensionsOverall: 4000 x 440 mm, 0.05 kg

ClassificationsClothing and personal items

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis white cotton sash features a wide pleated ruffle trim. It would have originally been worn with a white cotton day dress as a decorative tie around the waist. The white cotton day dress was a sort of 'uniform' of the ladies of leisure in Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Decorated with a white sash and accessorised with veils, hats and parasols, the white 'sun' dress was worn by women of all ages enjoying fresh air and mild physical exertion, preferably by the sea. HistoryBy the early 1900s a thriving tourist industry had become well established around the seaside towns of Australia. The beach had become a place for rest and recreation. Many women took up the fashionable pursuit of promenading along the seashore. Wearing the 'uniform' of a white day dress, decorated with a white sash and accessorised with veils, hats and parasols, usually white, to protect precious complexions from the harsh Australian sun, women enjoyed being ladies of leisure. White, cream, or ivory dresses were seen as a symbol of wealth during the Edwardian era. Wearing white or cream-coloured clothing meant you either had a maid at home or you could afford to pay another to wash your clothes. SignificanceThis decorative sash is a rare surviving example of the accessories worn by Edwardian women when visiting the Australian seaside in the early 1900s.