SEARCH the wardrobes and dig through the attic -- you could be hoarding some lovely dresses made at Preston cotton spinners Horrockses in bygone days.

And the town's Harris Museum is after the lot for a new exhibition of Horrockses Fashions in September next year.

The museum is seeking Horrokses Fashions clothing in good condition for possible display in the exhibition and is calling on people to have a rummage and root out their old frocks.

And while the museum is interested in clothing from across the Horrockses range, it is particularly keen to acquire children's clothing sold under the name Pirouette.

Head of Arts and Heritage at the museum, Alexandra Walker, said: "This will be a major exhibition of Horrockses products but we are still missing a few vital items.

"I'm sure that some local people will still have Horrockses clothing at home so we are appealing to them to come forward."

Horrockses Fashions was launched after the end of the Second World War in 1946, as a subsidiary of the Preston cotton spinning company Horrockses Crewsdon and Company.

The fashion arm of the business is best remembered for good quality cotton frocks as well as evening wear, children's clothes and used new fabric such as nylon.

Many of their patterns were created by leading designers such as Alastair Morton, of the Edinburgh Weavers, Eduardo Paolozzi and Graham Sutherland.

If you have Horrockses Fashions in your wardrobe and would like to donate or loan them to the Harris Museum for inclusion in the exhibition contact Jane Fraser at the Harris Museum on 905407.