Robe de baptême héritage exceptionnelle ancienne Ayrshire fait main avec broderie

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~FRENCH VINTAGE LINENS AND ANTIQUES~

Where You Will Find Beautiful and Unusual Vintage Linens & Apparel and Antiques from France

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Heirloom Christening Gown Exceptional Antique Ayrshire
Handmade with Embroidery

Antique Ayrshire Christening Gown Handmade and Hand Embroidered Exquisite Heirloom Quality


This is an exceptional example of a fine Antique Ayrshire Christening Gown of the highest quality.

This gown, entirely handmade and hand embroidered, is a Christening gown from the 19th century and is of the type known as Ayrshire. These gowns were made in the Ayrshire region of Scotland beginning in the early 1800s by local women, generally farmers or coal miners wives, piecework they did for supplemental income.
Many of these women became extremely talented embroiderers.
The embroidery on this gown is a charming and very fine example of this type of needlework, remarkable for its elegant design,and exquisite workmanship.

This fine antique gown would date by its style to around 1850/70 .
I have dated it by consulting the definitive work on 19th Century Christening Gowns,
"BABY WORE WHITE'" by Heather Toomer.

It has been entirely handmade of an exceptionally fine cotton lawn and it is still amazingly 'fresh'.'

But in fact all the seams, everything, the embroidery, everything has been done by a long-ago seamstress just with her needle and thread over 150 years ago.


The front panel of this Ayrshire gown has been embroidered with an exquisitely worked stylized floral motif.
The bodice, the 'robings' (the long ruffles at each side of the front panel), the neckline ruffle, the sleeves and the center panel of the very full skirt have all been lavishly hand embroidered with stylized flowere and foliage.
The edges are finished in embroidered scallops.
This embroidery work is exceptionally fine and profuse.

This gown is made of very fine cotton fabric which is lovely and white.
We have added ribbon ties at the waist.
This gown is without stain...except for one tiny spot at the lower back of the skirt.
The only other 'issue I see is a finely made repair under one sleeve.
I show these small 'flaws' in the last photos.
This lovely gown has evidently been very carefully stored and cared for.
(We do always caution that you may find some other tiny flaw as this is an antique gown...but on close inspection, I have found no other flaws other than those mentioned.)

Please study the photos carefully for the details of this gown and if you wish, we can supply you with as many more as you would like showing this gown in much greater detail

This lovely gown is, for a Christening gown of well over 150 years old and of this superb quality in exceptionally fine condition and would be entirely wearable for a Christening.
Storage of this gown should be such as that used to store heirloom bridal gowns.


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The gown measures approx. 49 inches long from shoulder to hem which is exceptionally long and will give it a lovely drape when baby is carried to the altar.
As well it measures a very full 104 inches around at the hem.

It measures approx. 22 inches around at the waist and approx. 22 inches around the chest at the underarms.
The neckline is adjustable.
The sleeve openings are approx. 7 inches around.
This gown would likely fit an average baby from about 3 months to up to about 12 months or so, depending on body type...but please do check measurements.

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This charming and very elegant gown is for a very special baby's Christening

and will surely be handed down for generations as a Cherished Family Heirloom.

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Price: $725.00

FVLA#: N678
~Please take time to read all our Shipping and Insurance Information ~

Shipping and Insurance:

Shipping from France is $37.50 Worldwide by French Colissimo which includes professional packing, insurance, a tracking number with delivery on signature for added security. Shipping will be less to France and other European Countries. Because of eBay shipping rules you will be charged the International shipping rate, but we will Refund the Overcharge to your Paypal account.

We only use recyclable materials which are included in the shipping cost.

All Shipping Charges will be less than our actual cost.

Please remember that we are Shipping from France.

As in the past, we are always happy to combine items to save on shipping costs.

We hope that the policies above will indicate to our customers that we do not profit on shipping charges .

Returns: PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION C A R E F U L L Y

We accept returns--but in our nearly 10 years of international selling of vintage and antique items, returns have been extremely rare.

We do not want unhappy customers, simple as that....so our return policy is No Questions, no hassle.

All we ask is that you notify us as soon as possible (within 7 days) that you would like to return your item for any reason, (other than for damage to, or breakage of, UNINSURED items).

We ask that you return the item in 'un-used'', 'as described' and 'as sent' condition, (unless, of course, the item was damaged in transit and was INSURED for shipping), as soon as possible--but, please, within 14 days. YOU THE CUSTOMER ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INSURED RETURN POSTAGE. If an item is damaged in transit and it is insured you, the Customer, must make a claim at your post office with the original packing, shipping label and the damaged item. We suggest that you take photos as you unwrap items, especially breakables, if you suspect damage. We will will be able to help you with information for this as stated above, but WE CAN ONLY INITIATE CLAIMS FOR ITEMS LOST TRANSIT.
This is not 'our' rule but the rule of the French Postal System and there can be no exceptions.

IMPORTANT: Naturally because we cannot send out items 'on approval', and because shopping on-line is a 2-way-street, we do ask that you do not request re-imboursement of the shipping costs--unless you, in good faith, feel that we have grossly misrepresented an item. In that case, we will reimbourse the return shipping cost as well, on receipt of the item.

++Also it is our understandable policy that any item that was insured when we shipped it to you, be insured by you on its return+++

If there are questions or problems, please let us know and we'll do our best to work things out.

Immediately upon receipt of a returned item, IN THE CONDITION WE SENT IT, we will post your refund to your Paypal or Etsy Direct Payment Account.

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We do our best, in all good faith, to describe our items fully and in detail and to note any of the small 'flaws' that are almost inevitable in Vintage and Antique items. Occasionally it is possible that we might miss some little thing--but we try not too. At the risk of not selling something otherwise wonderful, we do try to mention the tiny holes and small spots, etc. that may be present on our vintage or antique items.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT SIZE, CONDITION, AND SUCH BEFORE PURCHASE

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So far we have had 100% satisfaction with our items.

Please take a minute to have a look at our Feedback.

We work hard to maintain our 100% customer satisfaction and we hope it continues.

To that end we make every effort to describe our items accurately and fully and to note any small flaws which are inevitable in these vintage items.

Also please see our Comments on Condition and Pricing below.

We welcome and encourage your questions regarding measurements, condition, etc. before purchase.

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Finally we request that you Carefully Verify Your Shipping Address

and that you provide us with a Telephone Number which we will add to the Shipping form

that will be attached to your parcel. This can help insure safe and speedy delivery.

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It is our policy to abide by all eBay Rules and Regulations to the best of our ability and understanding

for the protection of our customers and ourselves.

We are a fully liscensed and legal business in France.

Our Siret Number is 502590573.00015

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Comments on the Condition of the items we sell:

Virtually all the items we sell are "vintage" which means they have, in the majority of cases, been used, and are at least 50 to 75, and occasionally even more than 100 years old. Having said that, we do not sell items that are so used that they are obviously heavily worn, faded, or too fragile to use. Almost all our items were made by hand in France during the first half of the last century--most would date from between about 1890 and 1950, although it is quite difficult to be certain of an exact date in most cases. It would be quite unusual to find this kind of fine hand work in France after about 1960. Again because these items are Vintage they have, in the vast majority of cases, been used. However all the items we sell have been carefully selected and inspected when we purchase them for their Very Good to Superb vintage condition. Still it is inevitable that occasionally there may be a hardly noticable tiny pin dot stain or a tiny rend on any given item. We always carefully launder and iron our items and in doing so inspect them carefully for a second time. If we notice a small flaw on an item we put that in my description. It is our hope that our customers understand that we would not and do not sell items which are not clean or have evident large stains or tears. But please do understand that because the items we sell are Vintage, and usually are at least 50 to 75 years old, they are rarely absolutely "pristine and perfect" as if they were new. If one expects that, then it is probably best not to purchase vintage items. Like all fine antiques, they will have their own sort of "patina." Some sellers do sell these vintage items in the state in which they find them and of course they inform their customers of that fact. We prefer to do laundering and ironing for our customers before shipping an item. In that way you can use and enjoy your purchase immediately.

Comments on Pricing:

Because the items we sell are generally much sought after here in France and abroad, they are becoming more rare, and certainly more difficult to find. We travel far and wide in our region of France to visit flea markets, brocantes, antique shops and private sellers. We visit Paris from time to time, and we search for these rare items in other areas of France when possible. Generally our buying costs are rising all the time as these Beautiful Handmade Vintage items become more scarce. Our travel costs to seek out new items are significant. Very importantly for our customers, I spend a great deal of time laundering and ironing the items we sell. This always involves lots of energy (both electrical and mine!) and time, and often requires specialized laundry products which can be costly. As well the percentage we pay both eBay and Paypal for listing , sale and transaction fees are significant. Finally we are a legal business here in France. We accurately report our eBay income and pay taxes on it. For all these reasons, the prices of these vintage items may seem a bit high--but the fact is that almost all these items are rare and special by virtue of being Handmade. Many are virtual works of art, (some are actually of museum quality), having been made entirely by hand by highly skilled, but sadly now unknown, seamstresses and embroiderers. These skilled craftswomen have all but entirely disappeared. This kind of French hand work is virtually a Lost Art and these items are rare. Still, in the face of the expenses involved in running our business, we do our best to keep our prices as reasonable as possible because it really is a great pleasure to package something very beautiful and very special and send it off to someone who will appreciate a lovely European Treasure From the Past.

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