Dress
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Date1860-1865
MediumHand-stitched silk and cotton, with silk fringe and velvet-covered buttons and velvet ribbon, wool hem tape, unidentified boning (probably baleen), and brass hooks and eyes
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x width across shoulders): 59 x 19 1/2in. (149.9 x 49.5cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Janice Boyd
DescriptionWoman's day dress (.a) of brown, white, and black plaid silk. The bodice is styled with a high, round neckline, dropped shoulderline, and round waist. Around the front and back of the bodice, over the shoulders, is a trimming of brown silk fringe headed by brown velvet ribbon. The bodice closes at center front with brass hooks and eyes; six brown, velvet-covered, non-functioning buttons decorate the left side of the opening edge. The coat sleeves are embellished with brown silk fringe in a diagonal near the wrist opening. The neckline, armscye seams, and waist edge are piped. The bodice is fitted with two 5 1/4-inch-long darts on either side of the opening; the darts are boned. The bodice lining is brown glazed cotton.
The skirt is cartridge-pleated to a narrow, tan twill-woven cotton waistband, and then stitched all around the bottom edge of the bodice. It is lined with brown glazed cotton. There is an in-seam pocket on the right side. The bottom edge is bound with wool tape.
This dress has been altered from a mid-1850s dress. The sleeves are pieced from a bell sleeve, and a remnant of fabric (.b) still with the dress was once a narrow shawl-like decoration across the bodice (see 1998.135.0 for an example of this type of decoration)--the old stitch marks are visible on the bodice. The gathered waist is more typical of 1850s construction than 1860s, at which time box pleats predominated.
The skirt is cartridge-pleated to a narrow, tan twill-woven cotton waistband, and then stitched all around the bottom edge of the bodice. It is lined with brown glazed cotton. There is an in-seam pocket on the right side. The bottom edge is bound with wool tape.
This dress has been altered from a mid-1850s dress. The sleeves are pieced from a bell sleeve, and a remnant of fabric (.b) still with the dress was once a narrow shawl-like decoration across the bodice (see 1998.135.0 for an example of this type of decoration)--the old stitch marks are visible on the bodice. The gathered waist is more typical of 1850s construction than 1860s, at which time box pleats predominated.
Object number1964.15.16a,b
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