Wedding Dress
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Frances Harriet Love
American, 1848 - 1927
DressmakerMade by
Unknown
Date1876
MediumMachine-stitched and hand-stitched silk and glazed cotton, with boning and silk cord with metal tips
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (center front length x width across shoulders): 56 x 15in. (142.2 x 38.1cm)
Other (center back length, including train): 74 1/2in. (189.2cm)
Other (center back length, including train): 74 1/2in. (189.2cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Janet Gaines
DescriptionWoman's princess line dress of ecru silk damask with floral patterns. The dress has a train; the entire hem is edged with piping covered in pale tan silk. Center back laced closure extends for 29 inches; the lacing holes are finished with closely worked whip stitches. There remains in the top holes a period lacing string of plaited silk, with brass tips. (However, this string is not long enough to close the entire back. It is not clear if several laces were used for the back, or if the original long lacing string is now missing and this one is a shorter replacement.) There is a bow of light tan silk at the base of the center back opening.
The front of the dress is decorated with a pleated ruffle in a square at the top of the bodice, imitating the fashionable neckline of the period. The neckline is finished with a matching pleated ruffle of the pale tan silk. At the base of the dress's skirt front are three rows of pleated ruffle of the tan silk, overlaid with triangles of the ecru damask. The sleeves are three-quarter-length, trimmed at the openings with pleated ruffles and bows of the tan silk. The armscye is piped.
The back of the dress is lined with white twill-woven cotton. The hem is lined with glazed twill-woven cotton. The front of the dress is lined with white cotton sateen. There is boning set into the center front of the lining, and in the side seams.
The front of the dress is decorated with a pleated ruffle in a square at the top of the bodice, imitating the fashionable neckline of the period. The neckline is finished with a matching pleated ruffle of the pale tan silk. At the base of the dress's skirt front are three rows of pleated ruffle of the tan silk, overlaid with triangles of the ecru damask. The sleeves are three-quarter-length, trimmed at the openings with pleated ruffles and bows of the tan silk. The armscye is piped.
The back of the dress is lined with white twill-woven cotton. The hem is lined with glazed twill-woven cotton. The front of the dress is lined with white cotton sateen. There is boning set into the center front of the lining, and in the side seams.
Object number1988.127.0
NotesHistorical Note: Frances Harriet Love's brother was William Deloss Love of Hartford, a Congregational minister and historian. The daughter of Frances Harriet Love and Walter Scott Alexander was Sarah Burrel Alexander. She married John Killam Murphy, and they lived in Branford, Connecticut.On View
Not on view
