This is an example of the ‘wiggle’ dress silhouette that was popular during the 1950s. The cotton is printed with cascading white roses against a dark navy blue background.

In flowers, particularly the white rose, the colour has long symbolised purity, innocence and new beginnings. Often associated with weddings, it can also express remembrance and enduring love. Textile designers at Horrockses Fashions used white flowers to highlight these ideas of beauty. Crisp white flowers, sometimes surrounded by luscious green foliage envelop the body in blooms and create an ethereal vision of femininity.