{"id":7034392,"date":"2026-08-09T00:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/a-british-museum-is-searching-for-a-rare-1940s-housecoat-from-a-fashion-brand-that-dressed-the-queen-and-on-special-occasions-ordinary-women-too\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T00:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:29:15","slug":"a-british-museum-is-searching-for-a-rare-1940s-housecoat-from-a-fashion-brand-that-dressed-the-queen-and-on-special-occasions-ordinary-women-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7034392","title":{"rendered":"A British Museum Is Searching for a Rare 1940s Housecoat From a Fashion Brand That Dressed the Queen\u2014and, on Special Occasions, Ordinary Women Too"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Patterned with a map of the British Isles, the housecoat was an early design by the pioneering brand Horrockses, which turned cotton cloth into whimsical women\u2019s wear after World War II<\/h2>\n
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Brigit Katz<\/a><\/p>\n

| Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

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A label from an outfit by\u00a0Horrockses Fashions
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Auckland Museum via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/span>
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During the 1940s and \u201950s, stylish ladies across Britain dazzled in the playfully patterned, brightly colored dresses of Horrockses Fashions, a popular clothing brand based in the city of Preston in northern England. Horrockses counted Queen Elizabeth II among its notable fans, but its prices were also within reach of ordinary women<\/a> searching for a beautiful, high-quality frock. On September 19, The Harris museum in Preston will launch an expansive exhibition<\/a> celebrating Horrockses\u2019 contributions to ready-to-wear fashion during Britain\u2019s post-war period.<\/p>\n

But first, as Paul Burnell of BBC News<\/em><\/a> reports, the museum is hoping to track down one of Horrockses\u2019 unique designs: a housecoat patterned with a map of the British Isles.<\/p>\n

The housecoat was included in Horrockses\u2019 first collection, which made its debut in a fashion show on April 3, 1946. Today, only two examples of the garment are known to experts: a burgundy version held by the Imperial War Museum in London, and a blue version that is thought to be held privately. Horrockses\u2019 also made a dress in the same pattern. The Harris Museum hopes to include the map-print fabric in its upcoming exhibition, \u201cEveryday Glamour: Horrockses Fashions from Royalty to Ready to Wear<\/a>,\u201d which will showcase some 60 dresses by the pioneering brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Harris is keen to hear from anyone who may own or know the whereabouts of one [of the dresses], as well as anyone with information about the housecoat,\u201d the museum said in a statement<\/a>. Scott Schiavone, decorative art curator at The Harris, called the housecoat \u201cone of the most exciting and elusive garments from Horrockses\u2019 history.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ordinary women as well as Elizabeth II appreciated the brand\u2019s dresses.\u00a0
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Horrockses Fashions via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Horrockses was born of Britain\u2019s once-booming cotton industry, which produced half <\/a>of the world\u2019s cotton cloth by the mid-19th century. Founded<\/a> in Preston in 1791, Horrockses initially manufactured cotton, one of many companies<\/a> to do so in Lancashire. The industry began to decline, however, during World War I, which inhibited<\/a> Britain\u2019s ability to export cotton products to foreign markets. Seeking new sources of revenue, Horrockses established its fashion brand in the 1940s, using its own cotton<\/a> to produce a line of women\u2019s wear that included dresses, housecoats and beachwear.<\/p>\n

The venture was a stunning success, melding high-quality production methods with avant-garde designs. Horrockses hired graduates from the Royal College of Art and collaborated<\/a> with artists like Eduardo Paolozzi<\/a> and Graham Sutherland<\/a> to create striking cotton prints. Emma Stanley of BBC News<\/em><\/a> <\/em>reports that <\/em>the company also sent its designers to Paris, where they took inspiration from high-end brands like Dior. Customers particularly admired the brand\u2019s full-skirted dresses, which often featured bold floral and geometric patterns, and the quality of its cotton, which washed well, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Artifacts from\u00a0Horrockses cotton manufacturing
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Clem Rutter via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Queen Elizabeth II was granted first pick of the two collections that Horrockses produced each year. According to The Harris museum, the queen liked the brand\u2019s dresses so much that she took several with her<\/a> when she embarked on her Commonwealth tour in 1953. But Horrockses\u2019 dresses were not the exclusive purview of royalty or the upper crust. They were sold at department stores and, according to the Guardian<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Kate Carter, <\/em>cost between \u00a34 and \u00a37\u2014expensive, but still accessible<\/a> to working women who wanted to save up for one.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Horrockses dress meant something,\u201d per<\/a> The Harris museum. \u201cPeople bought them for weddings, for honeymoons, for the occasions that called for your very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Did you know? King cotton<\/p>\n

The growth of British cotton production was facilitated by the invention in the 1700s of the spinning jenny<\/a> and the water frame<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With its call to the public in search of Horrockses\u2019 map-print housecoat, the museum hopes to find and celebrate a rare design by a brand that came to be loved by so many women.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was there right at the very beginning, at the first fashion show back in 1946 and yet we know of only a handful of surviving examples,\u201d Schiavone, the curator, says in the museum statement<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019d love to hear from anyone who owns one of these garments, or who knows where one might be, so that we can explore bringing it to Preston to be seen alongside the rest of the collection this autumn.\u201d<\/p>\n

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