Dress
Clothing MakerMade by
Mrs. Welch
Dateabout 1880
MediumHand- and machine-stitched silk with silk ribbons, brocade fabric, twill cotton fabric, machine lace, silk fringe and mother-of-pearl and silver mosaic butons. Baleen or tusk boning. Metal hooks and eyes.
DimensionsBodice (length down the back x width across shoulders): 23 x 11in. (58.4 x 27.9cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Thomas Archibald
Object number2004.71.1a,b
DescriptionWoman's two-piece ensemble in brown silk with a fitted bodice decorated with brocade, silk ribbons and mosaic buttons. The skirt, also of brown silk, has a wide panel of brocade poufed over each hip embellished with a wide fringe of matching silk threads.
2004.71.1a - bodice. The fitted bodice with a single dart on each side front and a seam under each arm. The back is constructed with a center back seam and two seams on each side. Boning is stitched along all of the seams, darts and on the proper right side of teh front closure. The center back extends to a point shaped to accomodate the large bustle fashionable in the 1880s. There is a thread eye stitched to the center back seam, 6 3/4 inches above the hem, to attach the pouf of the skirt to the bodice. The bodice has piping stitched along the hem (but not at the armscye). The bodice is lined with a brown twill cotton, sewn as one with the brown silk. The seams are hand overcast.
The center front closure has thirteen buttons along the proper right side, all made of a variegated brown (tortoise shell?) decorated with flowers, leaves and tendrils. The mosaic decoration appears to be made with mother-of-pearl and metal (silver?). Hand-stitched buttonholes run along the proper left side. Evidence of the use of a pin can be seen at the top of the closure where the collar comes together. The simple collar is made of a brocade fabric; this cloth has narrow stripes of yellow and blue woven into a floral pattern of brown. The collar is lined with a machine lace, 7/8 inch wide, pressed into very narrow pleats.
The sleeves are constructed of upper and lower, shaped pieces. Each has a slight puff at the shoulder. The cuffs are made of the brocade fabric. Double piping of brown runs along the edge of each cuff. The cuffs are further decorated with a bow of brown silk ribbon, 2 3/8 inches wide. A double row of the machine lace is stitched inside the cuff.
2004.71.1b - skirt - The base of the skirt is constructed of gored panels of brown silk. Around the bottom is an 11 inch wide flounce. The flounce has been folded into pleats and the bottom shaped into pointed scallops. The bottom is bound by a narrow bias tape of the silk. The hem of the base skirt is bound with a wool bias tape.
The decoration for this skirt is an overskirt, attached around the waist, of the brocade. It is folded and stitched to created poufs over each hip, with additional fabric gathered at the center back. A hook here indicates that the brocade would be attached to the thread eye stitched to the center back of the bodice. A panel of brocade extends down the back of the skirt. The brocade poufs are further embellished with a 4 inch wide fringe. This fabulous fringe is a combination of a straight fringe underneath a second of chenille yarns from which are hung small balls of thread (a combination of brown silk with just a touch of blue and yellow) with more fringe extending below.
The skirt closes in the center back with a hook and eye. Brown cotton fabric is used to make the waistband as well as to complete the tops of the back panels of the underskirt.
2004.71.1a - bodice. The fitted bodice with a single dart on each side front and a seam under each arm. The back is constructed with a center back seam and two seams on each side. Boning is stitched along all of the seams, darts and on the proper right side of teh front closure. The center back extends to a point shaped to accomodate the large bustle fashionable in the 1880s. There is a thread eye stitched to the center back seam, 6 3/4 inches above the hem, to attach the pouf of the skirt to the bodice. The bodice has piping stitched along the hem (but not at the armscye). The bodice is lined with a brown twill cotton, sewn as one with the brown silk. The seams are hand overcast.
The center front closure has thirteen buttons along the proper right side, all made of a variegated brown (tortoise shell?) decorated with flowers, leaves and tendrils. The mosaic decoration appears to be made with mother-of-pearl and metal (silver?). Hand-stitched buttonholes run along the proper left side. Evidence of the use of a pin can be seen at the top of the closure where the collar comes together. The simple collar is made of a brocade fabric; this cloth has narrow stripes of yellow and blue woven into a floral pattern of brown. The collar is lined with a machine lace, 7/8 inch wide, pressed into very narrow pleats.
The sleeves are constructed of upper and lower, shaped pieces. Each has a slight puff at the shoulder. The cuffs are made of the brocade fabric. Double piping of brown runs along the edge of each cuff. The cuffs are further decorated with a bow of brown silk ribbon, 2 3/8 inches wide. A double row of the machine lace is stitched inside the cuff.
2004.71.1b - skirt - The base of the skirt is constructed of gored panels of brown silk. Around the bottom is an 11 inch wide flounce. The flounce has been folded into pleats and the bottom shaped into pointed scallops. The bottom is bound by a narrow bias tape of the silk. The hem of the base skirt is bound with a wool bias tape.
The decoration for this skirt is an overskirt, attached around the waist, of the brocade. It is folded and stitched to created poufs over each hip, with additional fabric gathered at the center back. A hook here indicates that the brocade would be attached to the thread eye stitched to the center back of the bodice. A panel of brocade extends down the back of the skirt. The brocade poufs are further embellished with a 4 inch wide fringe. This fabulous fringe is a combination of a straight fringe underneath a second of chenille yarns from which are hung small balls of thread (a combination of brown silk with just a touch of blue and yellow) with more fringe extending below.
The skirt closes in the center back with a hook and eye. Brown cotton fabric is used to make the waistband as well as to complete the tops of the back panels of the underskirt.
Status
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