Wedding ensemble

This is the only wedding dress in the exhibition with a label confirming it was made in Bolton. However, the costumier that produced it only seems to have been in business for a short time.

This brocade wedding outfit from about 1899 was made by the Bolton costume maker Benjamin Cole.

Cole’s trading name and address is printed on a tape inside the bodice.

The bodice has the typical elaborate decoration of the time with appliquéd ribbon lace on the cuffs, collar and front panel.

It has a high ruche neck, embroidered silk chiffon, and fastens with gilt glass buttons.

There is also a long line of gilt glass buttons running down the back seam of the bodice and skirt.

An unusual feature of the skirt is that it is lined with brocade and not a cheap plain fabric like calico.

This seems like an unnecessary expense. Perhaps it was a special request by the bride. Unfortunately the name of the bride is not recorded.

Benjamin Cole’s shop premises were at 19 and 21 Knowsley Street.

Cole is recorded in Bolton trade directories covering the years 1899 – 1904 only, and is listed variously as a costume maker, silk mercer, milliner, and general draper.

In 1899 – 1901 he is one of only two costumiers (makers of high-end clothing) advertised in Bolton.

Most clothes were made by home dressmakers, and the mass production of home sewing machines, like the Singer, made this task less laborious.

However, home dressmakers had to get their supplies from somewhere, and it was the drapery shops and market stalls that they went to.

  Drapers, fabric traders and clothing-making services were numerous in Bolton in the nineteenth century and at the very beginning of the twentieth century.

However, a big increase in supply of ready to wear clothing, especially after the First World War, meant buying became cheaper than making at home, and the number of these stores went into a steep decline.