White knitted cotton stocking

Date1890 - 1910

Object number00018341

NameStocking

MediumCotton

DimensionsOverall: 810 x 170 mm, 0.03 kg

ClassificationsClothing and personal items

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis pair of white fine cotton knit lace stockings would have been worn as part of a late Victorian or Edwardian woman's elaborate set of undergarments. Extending above the knee, the stockings are elaborately patterned and would have been held up with garters. 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, mitts 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. SignificanceThe stockings are a rare surviving example of women's undergarment fashions at the turn of the nineteenth century and would have been worn by women when visiting the Australian seaside in the early 1900s.