Dress
Original OwnerPossibly originally owned by a member of the
Yale family
American
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1865
MediumHand-stitched silk, cotton, and a wool/cotton fabric, with wool hem tape, brass hooks and eyes, and unidentified boning (probably baleen)
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x width across shoulders): 57 1/2 x 18in. (146.1 x 45.7cm)
Hem (circumference): 137in. (348cm)
Hem (circumference): 137in. (348cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Elizabeth Yale Hall
DescriptionBrown silk damask day dress with a high, round neckline, dropped shoulder, and coat sleeves. The dress bodice closes at center front with hooks and eyes. Six non-functioning metal buttons covered with pale blue and black silk decorate the left front edge of the bodice (one button is missing). The waist is slightly high, measuring six inches at the side, below the armscye seam. The neckline, armscye seams, and waistline edge are piped. The bodice is fitted with two five-inch-long darts on either side of the opening; the darts are boned. The lining of the bodice is brown twill-woven cotton. There are old stitch marks in a "V" in the front of the bodice, continuing over the shoulders and around the back indicating that the bodice was once probably draped with bretelles.
The width of the skirt is held in layered box pleats around the waist. A six-inch-wide band of blue wool/cotton fabric with a woven dot is stitched about six inches up from the bottom of the skirt. This blue band has a wide black velvet ribbon edged with white in the center, and a narrow black velvet ribbon on each edge. Sometime in the latter part of the 1860s, hooks and eyes were added to the skirt lining to create a draped effect around the lower fourteen inches of the skirt. The skirt is lined with brown glazed cotton, and the bottom edge is bound with wool tape.
The width of the skirt is held in layered box pleats around the waist. A six-inch-wide band of blue wool/cotton fabric with a woven dot is stitched about six inches up from the bottom of the skirt. This blue band has a wide black velvet ribbon edged with white in the center, and a narrow black velvet ribbon on each edge. Sometime in the latter part of the 1860s, hooks and eyes were added to the skirt lining to create a draped effect around the lower fourteen inches of the skirt. The skirt is lined with brown glazed cotton, and the bottom edge is bound with wool tape.
Object number1950.16.26
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