This cinnamon brown Horrockses Fashions cotton shirtwaister dress was produced to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The dense pattern is made up of the hand-written words ‘Elizabeth Regina 1953’ printed all over the fabric.

The small repeating letters and the spaces in-between form a fine pattern against the taupe ground colour. Lots of commemorative textiles such as tea towels were produced to mark the Queen’s coronation in 1953 but few are as sophisticated as this dress!

The dress was acquired directly from Horrockses Fashions at their London showroom by the donor who knew John Tullis, Horrockses senior in-house designer, which meant she able to buy the dress for a bargain cost price!