Dress
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Mary Jane Buel
(American, 1827 - 1884)
Clothing MakerMade by
Mademoiselle Blondeaux
(French)
Dateabout 1890-1895, altered from earlier dress
MediumBodice (.a): Hand-stitched silk and cotton, with silk lace, cotton wadding, and baleen boning.
Bodice (.b): Machine-stitched silk, with cotton insert, silk lace and ferrous metal boning, hooks, eyes, and snaps of various metals.
Skirt (.c): Hand-stitched silk, with silk lace and metal hooks and eyes.
Underskirt (.d): Machine-stitched silk and cotton, with brass hook and eye.
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Seth P. Holcombe and Mrs. Gilbert A. Wicke
Object number1981.26.15a-d
DescriptionWoman's dress of pink and white brocade, woven with a design of lattice stripes overlaid with floral bouquets. The dress consists of a bodice (.b) with an overskirt (.c) and underskirt (.d), and an extra, earlier bodice dating from its original construction about 1853 (.a).
Bodice (.a) has a deeply pointed waist at center front and center back, and a very wide neckline, both of which are piped. The neckline is also edged with silk bobbin lace. The sleeves have been removed and applied to bodice (.b). The bodice is fitted with four long, vertical darts at center front. The bodice has a laced opening open down the center back; there is a remnant of the original pink cord lacing knotted through one eyelet. The bodice is lined with white glazed cotton. The seams, center front, and edges of the center back opening are boned. There are two thickly wadded pads in the bust area.
The waistline of bodice (.b) is dipped in front, and pointed in back. The neckline is V-shaped at front and back. It opens down the length of the center front, fastening with brass hooks and eyes in the lining. The fashion fabric on the front of the bodice is pleated into the shoulder and into the lower center front opening edges, with the resulting fullness released over the bust, creating a draped effect. The short, full sleeves are pleated into the shoulder and edged with bobbin lace. Undersleeves of tulle extend below the silk sleeves. This bodice is lined with pink twill-woven silk. The boning on the seams is covered with white twill-woven silk tape. A dress weight is covered with pink silk and mounted at the center back point of the waist. Two hooks on the back at the waist would attach to the skirt. A cream-colored silk petersham is stamped with the dressmaker's label. The bodice front has been extended with a white cotton panel edged with metal eyelets to make it larger, and modern snaps have been added to the center front fashion fabric.
The overskirt (.c) is gathered into a narrow waistband of pink twill-woven fabric. It is bordered with a three-inch-wide insertion of silk bobbin lace and edged with a 6 1/2-inch-wide flounce of bobbin lace. The overskirt is not lined. It opens at center back for about 12 1/2 inches and fastens with a hook and eye at the waistband.
The underskirt (.d) is made of pale pink cotton. It is smooth across the front and hips and is cartridge-pleated at the center back. The underskirt has a 15 1/2-inch deep applied flounce of the dress silk. Under this flounce, the skirt is edged with a knife-pleated ruffle of pink twill-woven silk, backed with a box-pleated ruffle of sheer, stiff cotton edged with machine-made lace. The back of the skirt, about 23 inches above the bottom edge, is gathered along a 3/4-inch-wide band of steel. Tapes at the end of the band tie together to pull the skirt's fullness towards the back of the knees. The underskirt opens at the center back for eleven inches and fastens with a brass hook and eye.
NotesRelated Note: A portrait of Mary Jane Buel Brace wearing this dress is in the Connecticut Museum collection (2023.85.0).Bodice (.a) has a deeply pointed waist at center front and center back, and a very wide neckline, both of which are piped. The neckline is also edged with silk bobbin lace. The sleeves have been removed and applied to bodice (.b). The bodice is fitted with four long, vertical darts at center front. The bodice has a laced opening open down the center back; there is a remnant of the original pink cord lacing knotted through one eyelet. The bodice is lined with white glazed cotton. The seams, center front, and edges of the center back opening are boned. There are two thickly wadded pads in the bust area.
The waistline of bodice (.b) is dipped in front, and pointed in back. The neckline is V-shaped at front and back. It opens down the length of the center front, fastening with brass hooks and eyes in the lining. The fashion fabric on the front of the bodice is pleated into the shoulder and into the lower center front opening edges, with the resulting fullness released over the bust, creating a draped effect. The short, full sleeves are pleated into the shoulder and edged with bobbin lace. Undersleeves of tulle extend below the silk sleeves. This bodice is lined with pink twill-woven silk. The boning on the seams is covered with white twill-woven silk tape. A dress weight is covered with pink silk and mounted at the center back point of the waist. Two hooks on the back at the waist would attach to the skirt. A cream-colored silk petersham is stamped with the dressmaker's label. The bodice front has been extended with a white cotton panel edged with metal eyelets to make it larger, and modern snaps have been added to the center front fashion fabric.
The overskirt (.c) is gathered into a narrow waistband of pink twill-woven fabric. It is bordered with a three-inch-wide insertion of silk bobbin lace and edged with a 6 1/2-inch-wide flounce of bobbin lace. The overskirt is not lined. It opens at center back for about 12 1/2 inches and fastens with a hook and eye at the waistband.
The underskirt (.d) is made of pale pink cotton. It is smooth across the front and hips and is cartridge-pleated at the center back. The underskirt has a 15 1/2-inch deep applied flounce of the dress silk. Under this flounce, the skirt is edged with a knife-pleated ruffle of pink twill-woven silk, backed with a box-pleated ruffle of sheer, stiff cotton edged with machine-made lace. The back of the skirt, about 23 inches above the bottom edge, is gathered along a 3/4-inch-wide band of steel. Tapes at the end of the band tie together to pull the skirt's fullness towards the back of the knees. The underskirt opens at the center back for eleven inches and fastens with a brass hook and eye.
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