Eve Lamb
Ever since the tale of the ‘dumpster dress’ made the ABC and the BBC a few weeks back, visitations to a rare Castlemaine exhibition of special occasion vintage frocks have gone through the roof.
Right from the time it first opened back in January 2021 though, the Heavenly exhibition showing upstairs above Run Rabbit Run Café proved a hit with visitors and began growing, expanding and evolving.
Heavenly is the brainchild of its devoted curator-collector, Run Rabbit Run owner and history buff Peter Bottomley, and features vintage gowns and accessories from some of life’s most cherished Big Days – weddings, baptisms and communions – spanning the 1870s to the 1970s.
“For me it’s about the stories behind the items,” says Peter, who spends innumerable hours researching the couture treasures that find their way into his collection – of which Heavenly represents only about a third.
As word of Heavenly has increasingly spread, its curator has found himself on the receiving end of a constant drip-feed of donations from people who just can’t bear to part with fine yesteryear frocks of immense personal significance, yet for which they have no practical use, many of them wedding dresses handed down through generations.
In January just past, one such donation that had landed in Peter’s collection caught the attention of the international media.
When it came to light, the tale attached to the beautiful liquid satin (heavy silk) 1930s ‘dumpster dress’ caught the imagination of people Australia-wide and in England where the dress was originally worn to the wedding of Gertrude Bloye and Fred Macdonald in Plymouth, England in 1938.
But with the march of time and the passing of the bride who had loved it, the dress and carefully boxed-up treasure trove of other items related to Gertrude and Fred’s big day were handed down through assorted relatives and family links, ending up in Perth, Western Australia.
It was there that the once-treasured gown and wedding day collection was rescued in the nick of time by a keen-sighted stranger, just as it was being disposed of in a rubbish skip.
The rescuer then sold the frock and its associated wedding day treasures via social media to Melbourne woman Claire Ransome who was seeking a special vintage gown for her own wedding day.
From there the vintage wedding showbag of items found their way to Josephine Cafagna, a former ABC journalist and connoisseur of vintage clothes who determined that the most fitting place for them was Peter’s Heavenly collection.
Admiring the ‘Bloye Collection’ as it’s now known, Peter says the media attention that its story of salvation received via the ABC and BBC, has seen both the number of visitors and donations to Heavenly flow like tears down the cheeks of a blushing bride’s mum.
“It’s been extraordinary,” he says.
“It’s been attracting people from all over the state.”
Peter agrees a fashion parade of the lavish and luxuriant retro couture in his collection is an interesting prospect to consider.
“The biggest challenge we would face is getting models small enough today to fit them because of the changing shape of people,” he chuckles.
