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It’s not often that words fail me, but this glorious piece is even more beautiful than the pictures, and my words pale beside the gown itself. It is the FINEST! I simply cannot imagine the hours/days/months that someone spent making this Edwardian Irish Crochet Wedding Gown. It's possible it took a number of women quite some time to hand-crochet this dress. To find an entire dress of Irish Crochet is one thing, but this one has the most densely connected elements that I’ve seen: they cover the entire dress. You often find them with a great deal of openwork and connecting threads between occasional flowers, shamrocks, etc. The weight of this gown - 2 lbs., 12 ounces - speaks of how much thread was used to create this! This gown has only one seam up the back – the bell sleeves are separate. WOW! I have tried to photograph it in different lights; and with/without a slip.

If you like flowers, this gown is a celebration unto itself. There are filled flowers, solid flowers, lacy flowers, 3-dimensional flowers, shamrocks, pinwheels, buds and tendrils. The vines look like button-hole stitches, and they are doubled to make this dress remarkably strong. Around the neck, at the sleeves and at the ‘hem’ is a delicate scalloped crochet edging to finish it. There is a bit of stretch to the garment because of the open-ness of the lace, but it would be best to fit a bit loosely so that the crochet lace is not stressed. The wonderful thing about this dress is that it has a deep opening in the back [27”] and it fastens with 18 hooks-and-eyes. These are not all evenly spaced, but they do a good job keeping the dress together.

The gown has a gently rounded neckline with elbow-length bell sleeves. It is very fitted through the bust and waist without a defined waistline, flaring out at the hips to a full skirt that is slightly longer in the back to form a small train. The gown is photographed with and without a slip. You will need a slip or underdress with this. The color is a pale cream color. This kind of dress comes along very rarely, and I guarantee you will not see another quite like this – it is definitely museum-worthy. I have not attempted to soak or clean this in any way. It comes from the estate of a discriminating collector who was active in a number of vintage and car clubs. PLEASE – ask for more photos if you are seriously interested in this gown, because I have many and I couldn’t show all the details.

I estimate this would best fit a modern size Small to Medium, but please go by measurements below. Although there is some stretch to the crochet lace, you must be smaller than the measurements below to insure proper fit.

NOTE: Measurements are taken lying flat from the outside, so please double where applicable:

Bust: 19”, stretches to 20 ½”

Waist: 14, stretches to 15 ½”

Hips: 21 to 22”

Shoulders Across Back: 13”

Sleeve length from shoulder to end: 12”

Sleeve length underarm to end: 5 ½”

Total length in front from top of shoulder: 60”

Total length from center back: 66”

Sweep: 57 ½”

Weight is 2 lbs, 12 oz., unpackaged.

Condition is EXCELLENT with the following issues noted. There are some breaks in the connectors, but not many. There are two at the right side of the back hip that are smaller than a quarter [photo #12 shows two at the top – the right photo is a close-up of the larger hole pictured at top left]. There is a small hole at the back right shoulder, and several incidental breaks here and there. There are some minor age discoloration at the neck and the back opening [where it hooks and was handled]. A couple of gray discolored areas near the hem and at the center left sleeve. There are a handful of medium-brown spots here and there. Please message me for more photos, because I have many more pictures and would love to share details of the glory as well as the small issues of this wonderful gown.

Due to the delicate nature of vintage items, clothing is not returnable.

Payment is expected via PayPal within 3 days of auction’s end. Please ask any questions, or let me know if you would like to see additional photos before bidding, as all sales are final. This item weighs 2 lbs., 12 oz. unpackaged. Washington State Residents must pay 9.7% sales tax, regrettably.

International Buyers are welcome. Import duties, taxes and fees are the buyer's responsibility and are not included in the item price or shipping charges. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. Merchandise will be marked at the sales price, as required by the U.S. Government. This package will be sent international priority. I provide a customs number at the time of mailing, but I am not responsible for uninsured packages if they have been lost or damaged, nor any delays due to weather or customs. If you have zero feedback, please contact me before bidding.