c1926 Marnie

This yellow and orange printed silk georgette gown is embellished with sequins and beads, featuring butterflies - the symbol of flirtation – which have been highlighted with beading for extra glamour.

The overskirt has been gathered before being attached to the bodice to form the pointed hemline. Many beads in the 1920s were made from glass, which made these simple dresses very heavy.

Marnie was christened Marjorie Florence Smith, and her family lived at “Gamboola” a property near Molong, in country NSW.  In 1907 she married Norman Holmes from Dubbo, and the couple lived at "Yarras", Bathurst.  Norman’s father, James Holmes was a Scottish migrant, who in 1865 had opened the first bank in Dubbo – a branch of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. There were only two or three other businesses in the town at the time, so it was quite a far-sighted venture. Little else is known about Marnie, except that she was very fashion conscious and was an active participant in country social life. All her gowns in the Cavalcade collection are unusual and interesting.