Dress
DressmakerMade by
Unknown
Date1770-1795
MediumHand-stitched block-printed cotton
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length): 54in. (137.2cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineMuseum purchase
DescriptionOpen robe made of a printed cotton with a design of fine sprays of red flowers (with pencil blue accents) and brown vines on a white background. The bodice opens center front and ends with a rounded point. The neckline is a wide square. The sleeves are long, narrow, and cut with a curve. Two thread ("Dorset") buttons close the wrist opening. The left sleeve is pieced below the elbow. The back is shaped by stitched-down pleats, which curve down from between the shoulder blades to the lower center back, where the pleats are released; the bodice back is cut one with the skirt (called "en ferreau," or an "English back"). The waist is pointed at center back, and the skirt is narrowly pleated into the waist seam. The skirt ends just over the hips in front, so that a matching or decorative petticoat could be seen as the front panel of the skirt. The bodice is cut in an about 1770s to early 1780s style; the sleeves were probably modified in the 1790s.
Object number1956.45.62
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