Young Woman's Dress
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Mary Woodruff
(American, 1810 - 1880)
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Date1825
MediumHand-stitched silk and cotton, with machine-made alterations; modern metal hook and eye and synthetic fiber tapes
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x width): 50 1/4 x 16 1/4in. (127.6 x 41.3cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund
Object number2002.157.1
DescriptionYoung woman's formal dress of red gauze-woven silk, woven with a floral and pointed oval design. The fabric has a border pattern of flowers and wheat-like stems woven in gold-colored silk. The dress as it currently appears has a wide neckline edged with thick, self-covered piping. The red gauze is slightly gathered over the plain, white cotton lining of the bodice. The darts of the bodice have been let out so that it is unfitted. The sleeves are short. They are gathered into the armscye, which is piped, and also into a 1/2-inch-wide binding of self-fabric around the arm opening. The skirt is gathered all around the waist (originally, it would have been flat in front). Two triangular peplum-like flaps are stitched at the waist; they are made of fabric from the gold-colored border design. The dress opening extends sixteen inches down the center back and fastens with red synthetic fiber tape ties, and a modern hook and eye at the neckline. The curved side back seams are piped. The skirt is unlined.
NotesHistorical Note: According to family history, fifteen year old Mary Lewis Woodruff (1810-1880) wore this red dress at a school exhibition in about 1825. She wore the dress to the Congregational Church the following Sunday, and after the service, the deacons scolded her for wearing such an inappropriate dress into a house of worship.Mary Lewis Woodruff was the adopted daughter of Miles and Isabinda Peck Lewis. When her adopted father died, she inherited the Miles Lewis house, at least for use during her life time. The house, in Bristol, Connecticut, is now the site of the American Clock and Watch Museum.
Status
Not on view
