Wedding Dress
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Date5 June 1862
MediumMachine-stitched and hand-stitched silk and cotton, with unidentified boning, linen lace, silk thread-covered wooden buttons, and brass hooks and eyes
DimensionsBodice (length x shoulder width ): 15 3/4 x 18in. (40 x 45.7cm)
Skirt (length ): 42in. (106.7cm)
Hem (circumference ): 162in. (411.5cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Nelson Lee Smith
Object number1974.24.1a-c
DescriptionWoman's three-piece dress, consisting of a bodice (.a), skirt (.b), and sash (.c), made of pale gray-green silk. The bodice is styled with a high, round neckline, dropped shoulder, and slightly high, round waistline (measuring about six inches at the side, under the armscye seam). It closes at center front with eleven small, domed buttons covered with matching silk thread in a spiral pattern. Brass hooks and eyes offer further stability of the opening. The fitting is achieved by two six-inch darts on either side of the opening. Around the bodice at shoulder level is a ruffle of self-fabric with pinked edges over a 4 1/4-inch flounce of handmade Brussels lace. The center back of the bodice is decorated with a fan of pleated self-fabric at the waistline. The coat sleeves are trimmed above the wrist openings with three rows of the self-fabric ruffle, and the wrists are trimmed with a one-inch ruffle of Brussels lace. The bodice is lined with plain white cotton. The darts and left side of the opening are boned. The side seams were let out and the waistband extended when the owner wore the dress for her 25th wedding anniversary.
The skirt is mostly flat in front, with only one pleat on the right side to balance the skirt opening which is left of center. There is one more pleat over each hip, and the back of the skirt is cartridge-pleated. The skirt is lined with a starched, white, open-weave fabric. The bottom of the skirt is lined for 15 1/4 inches with white glazed cotton; it also shows evidence of having been altered. The back panels of the skirt have been pieced 6 1/4 inches from the top, and there are old stitch marks indicating another alteration. There in an in-seam pocket on the right side.
The sash is a 1 1/2-inch-wide belt of self-fabric, with one pleat taken throughout its length, and lined with the stiff fabric like the skirt. At the center back is mounted a double tail, each about ten inches wide and edged with the self-fabric ruffle. Over the tails is a doubled-over, pleated fan of self-fabric.
NotesHistorical Note: Bertha Olmsted was the daughter of John and Mary Ann Bull Olmsted, and the half sister of Frederick Law Olmsted. She married Bishop William Woodruff Niles in Hartford, Connecticut, on 5 June 1862. He was an Episcopal Bishop in New Hampshire for over forty years. The couple's friends held a 25th anniversary party for them at their home, and Bertha Olmsted wore her wedding dress again for the celebration.The skirt is mostly flat in front, with only one pleat on the right side to balance the skirt opening which is left of center. There is one more pleat over each hip, and the back of the skirt is cartridge-pleated. The skirt is lined with a starched, white, open-weave fabric. The bottom of the skirt is lined for 15 1/4 inches with white glazed cotton; it also shows evidence of having been altered. The back panels of the skirt have been pieced 6 1/4 inches from the top, and there are old stitch marks indicating another alteration. There in an in-seam pocket on the right side.
The sash is a 1 1/2-inch-wide belt of self-fabric, with one pleat taken throughout its length, and lined with the stiff fabric like the skirt. At the center back is mounted a double tail, each about ten inches wide and edged with the self-fabric ruffle. Over the tails is a doubled-over, pleated fan of self-fabric.
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