Just like a wedding dress, the creation a woman wears to her engagement party will often become a treasured piece. This sweet 1960s mini dress, copied from the cover of Seventeen magazine, was created for such an event. The party took place in Diane Spillane’s parents Hamilton home and an engagement notice appeared
in the local paper. In response to the announcement of the impending nuptials, the bride-to-be was mailed a slew of brochures to help inspire her wedding. From local fabric store Pollock & Milne to hopeful reception venues, each possibility was tucked away into a young bride’s scrapbook. This was the retro equivalent of the hoard of wedding advertisements which appear on a woman’s Facebook page the moment her status is updated to 'engaged'. Read more about the history of home sewing in the New Zealand Fashion Museum publication Home Sewn.