Vintage Polly Flinders Dresses

A child of the 70s, special occasions in my girlhood were marked with a trip to the department store for a fine new Polly Flinders frock.  Polly Flinders dresses were famous for their hand-smocking and embroidery.  Thirty years later I am still quite fond of the sewing and details however, Flinders dresses can be difficult to find secondhand and thrift, likely because people keep them as a memento of special events.  Timeless, Polly Flinders designs are still in demand today.

I assume the name Polly Flinders was cleverly derived from the following nursery rhyme first published in 1805:

Little Polly Flinders,
Sat among the cinders,
Warming her pretty little toes.
Her mother came and caught her,
And whipped her little daughter
For spoiling her nice new clothes.

A great collection of Polly Flinders dresses can be found online HERE.