Dress, ballroom dance dress

Balloom dance dress worn by Janet Gleave, eight times undefeated world ballroom dance champion with her husband Richard, between 1973 and 1981 before their retirement from professional dancing.

In an interview in 1981, Janet mentioned that her dresses use 'two layers of net that takes about 25 yards of net and 10 metres of chiffon', and that each dress was worth about £200, most of that cost going on rhinestones to make the dress glitter and sparkle in the competition lights. She talks about the headaches she got from the glue required to stick on the thousands of sequins.

The dress has a close fitting bodice and long tight sleeves in black net. It opens down the front with a flesh coloured zip and above that, six hooks and eyes. The neck is plain and round. The only foundation to the bodice are flesh-coloured brassiere cups covered in nylon. The sleeves finish in a point on the wrist and fasten with a short navy zip. The decoration on the bodice and sleeves is of applied white guipure lace and glass spangles. On the sleeves are wisps of white ostrich feather attached to lace. The bodice covers the top of the skirt with a series of points covered with black sequins. Lines of black sequins and sprinkled spangles continue onto the top of the otherwise plain skirt.

The full yet short skirt is of four layers. The two top layers are of shiny white nylon net cut as a circle. The top layer has 20 semicircular gores set into it; the second layer has 12 gores. Layers three and four are of white tulle, also circular, with two gathered flounces. The lower layer has two double flounces. The inner layer is a lining of double white polyester. Stitched with zig-zag machine stitching.