Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Princess Marina’s Baby Dress, 1910

Dress
Embroidered Linen
Made for Princess Marina, 1910
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Though children’s fashions tended to be simpler in design than their adult counterparts, they were nonetheless well made. Clothing, overall, was made to last. Even in the early Twentieth Century, most families—even the wealthiest—didn’t have closets full of changes of clothes. Children’s clothes, especially, were constructed to be sturdy. However, great attention to detail was still paid because, in many cases, these articles were passed down from child to child—often for generations.

This beautiful dress of embroidered linen was made in 1910 for Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (1906-1968). The Princess was the youngest of the three daughters of HRH Prince Nicholas of Greece and his wife Grand Duchess Elena of Russia. However, most people remember Princess Marina as the wife of the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, Prince George (“Georgie” to his mother, the Queen), the Duke of Kent whom the Princess married in 1934. “Georgie” and Marina appeared to have a happy marriage though beneath the surface there was a lot going on that wasn’t known by the public. Together, they had one child, Prince Edward (now Duke of Kent). Princess Marina, even after the untimely death of the Duke of Kent in 1942, was quite popular with the people of Britain who admired her fashion sense—a trait, it seems, which she developed as a child. 

Mastery of Design: The Dame Joan Evans Greek Necklace, 200 B.C.

Necklace
Hellenistic, Greek
Owned by Dame Joan Evans
The Victoria & Albert Museum

That Dame Joan Evans! She certainly had some great jewelry—and, thankfully, she left it to the V&A so that we can all enjoy it. Dame Joan’s collection wasn’t just limited to items made during her own lifetime, she collected jewels from antiquity onward. Here’s an exceptional example of a Hellenistic Greek piece from Dame Joan’s monumental collection.

By the Hellenistic period (323-27 BC), Greek jewelers were introducing more colorful stones in their work, slowly making color one of the most important aspects of the era. With settings of gold, the Greeks favored garnets above all other stones. They, however, also used emeralds, carnelian, rock crystal, agates, onyxes or lapis-lazuli. While the stones were not cut and faceted in the manner to which we are accustomed now, the stones were presented in their best possible light. The stones were pierced, cut, abraded and polished and carved. Some gems were left in their natural crystalline state in order to showcase their original beauty. Often, colored glass was used in imitation of stone. For example in this necklace, glass was used to imitate onyx and pearl. 


Hellenistic Greek necklaces, were typically worn tight around the neck, like a contemporary choker or ribbon. Sometimes, they were made to be worn in a looser fashion at the base of the neck. This necklace is a good example of the type of enclosure used--tied at the back by means of a cord. Greek ladies liked to wear their necklaces in multiples, especially alternating necklaces with simple beads with one of more a more elaborate form like this one which is comprised of female heads, gold with granulation, garnet, emerald, and the aforementioned glass in imitation of onyx and pearl. It was made between 200 and 100 B.C. 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Princess Marina’s Baby Dress, 1910

Dress
Embroidered Linen
Made for Princess Marina, 1910
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Though children’s fashions tended to be simpler in design than their adult counterparts, they were nonetheless well made. Clothing, overall, was made to last. Even in the early Twentieth Century, most families—even the wealthiest—didn’t have closets full of changes of clothes. Children’s clothes, especially, were constructed to be sturdy. However, great attention to detail was still paid because, in many cases, these articles were passed down from child to child—often for generations.

This beautiful dress of embroidered linen was made in 1910 for Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (1906-1968). The Princess was the youngest of the three daughters of HRH Prince Nicholas of Greece and his wife Grand Duchess Elena of Russia. However, most people remember Princess Marina as the wife of the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, Prince George (“Georgie” to his mother, the Queen), the Duke of Kent whom the Princess married in 1934. “Georgie” and Marina appeared to have a happy marriage though beneath the surface there was a lot going on that wasn’t known by the public. Together, they had one child, Prince Edward (now Duke of Kent). Princess Marina, even after the untimely death of the Duke of Kent in 1942, was quite popular with the people of Britain who admired her fashion sense—a trait, it seems, which she developed as a child.