Shirtwaist
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Katharine Anna Klauder
1877 - 1910
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1905
MediumMachine-stitched silk and cotton
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (center front length): 23 1/2in. (59.7cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Klaudia Ockert Steidle Shepard and Joy Steidle Graeub
DescriptionTan-colored pongee silk (woven of slubbed threads), with high collar and three-quarter-length sleeves. The shirtwaist is decorated across the shoulders, center front, and sleeve cuffs with eyelet embroidery and inserts of chemical lace. The front of the shirtwaist is cut extra long so that it can be puffed out above the skirt in the fashionable "pouter pigeon" front. Closure at center back with thirteen silk-covered buttons. The shirtwaist's fullness is controlled at center back by pleating, stitched down under woven tapes for 1 1/2 inch on either side of the center back opening. The tapes then hang loose, so they can be tied around the waist to keep the shirtwaist from popping out of the skirt.
Object number2001.7.1
MarkingsNoneNotesHistorical Note: Katharine Anna Klauder married Charles Ockert, president of the Ockert Safe Company of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1901.On View
Not on view