Wedding Dress
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Lydia C. Robinson
(American)
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Date1841, with later alteration
MediumHand-stitched and machine-stitched silk, with metal hooks and eyes, and silk thread-covered wooden buttons
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x width across shoulders): 58 x 18in. (147.3 x 45.7cm)
Hem (circumference): 96in. (243.8cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of C. C. Hemenway
Object number1968.45.0a,b
DescriptionWoman's dress (.a) with a matching cape collar (.b). The bodice fabric of this dress is a blue/brown changeable silk, and the skirt is a blue/green changeable silk. Originally, the skirt would have matched the bodice fabric, but the dress was altered in the early 20th century for use as a wedding dress and the new skirt (taken from a different period dress) was probably put on at that time.
The bodice front is fashioned with fan pleating extending to the shoulders from the pointed waist. The sleeves are long and narrow, with a separate six-inch cap over the top of the arm. This sleeve cap is trimmed with a blue and two-tone gray silk fringe. The fabric on the back of the sleeve is gathered into the underarm seam to allow the elbow to bend. The neckline is wide; it, the waist edge, and the armscyes are piped. The back opening of the dress has been altered to make the bodice larger by inserting a machine-stitched flap of the bodice fabric; this snaps closed on the opposite side. Twentieth-century hooks are stitched to the left back edge; the original brass hooks remain 1 1/2 inches behind the new hooks. The bodice is lined with plain-woven linen. The center front seam is boned; additional boning is inserted in casings several inches to either side of the center front seam.
The skirt, which originally belonged to a different dress, has been lengthened twice; former cartridge pleating is indicated by fold lines and stitch marks about 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inches below the current pleating. The stitching of the skirt to the bodice is very poorly done. The bottom edge of the skirt is lined for 9 inches with brown, plain-woven cotton; the edge is bound with blue twill-woven wool tape.
The cape collar matches the bodice fabric. The neckline is finished with a 1 1/8-inch standing band, with piping at the base. The shoulder seams are also piped. The center front closes with brass hooks and thread eyes underneath non-functioning buttons made of blue silk thread worked over wooden button molds. The bottom edge is finished with 4 1/2-inch-long blue silk fringe. Stitch lines along the shoulder seams indicate that this collar has also been altered. It would be most common for the fringe of the collar to match that used on the bodice, so it is possible that this collar comes from a different dress.
The bodice front is fashioned with fan pleating extending to the shoulders from the pointed waist. The sleeves are long and narrow, with a separate six-inch cap over the top of the arm. This sleeve cap is trimmed with a blue and two-tone gray silk fringe. The fabric on the back of the sleeve is gathered into the underarm seam to allow the elbow to bend. The neckline is wide; it, the waist edge, and the armscyes are piped. The back opening of the dress has been altered to make the bodice larger by inserting a machine-stitched flap of the bodice fabric; this snaps closed on the opposite side. Twentieth-century hooks are stitched to the left back edge; the original brass hooks remain 1 1/2 inches behind the new hooks. The bodice is lined with plain-woven linen. The center front seam is boned; additional boning is inserted in casings several inches to either side of the center front seam.
The skirt, which originally belonged to a different dress, has been lengthened twice; former cartridge pleating is indicated by fold lines and stitch marks about 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inches below the current pleating. The stitching of the skirt to the bodice is very poorly done. The bottom edge of the skirt is lined for 9 inches with brown, plain-woven cotton; the edge is bound with blue twill-woven wool tape.
The cape collar matches the bodice fabric. The neckline is finished with a 1 1/8-inch standing band, with piping at the base. The shoulder seams are also piped. The center front closes with brass hooks and thread eyes underneath non-functioning buttons made of blue silk thread worked over wooden button molds. The bottom edge is finished with 4 1/2-inch-long blue silk fringe. Stitch lines along the shoulder seams indicate that this collar has also been altered. It would be most common for the fringe of the collar to match that used on the bodice, so it is possible that this collar comes from a different dress.
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