Dress
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1877-1880
MediumMachine-stitched and hand-stitched silk and cotton, with jet buttons, and wool hem tape
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (center back length x width across shoulders): 68 1/2 x 15in. (174 x 38.1cm)
Other (center front length): 52 1/2in. (133.4cm)
Hem (circumference): 97 1/2in. (247.7cm)
Other (center front length): 52 1/2in. (133.4cm)
Hem (circumference): 97 1/2in. (247.7cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineMuseum purchase
DescriptionWoman's morning dress of black silk, with a center front panel of brown and blue checked silk. Alternate brown blocks of the check have a woven cross-hatched design. The black silk fabric has a woven large-scale checkerboard pattern, with plain and ribbed blocks. Edging the center front panel is a trimming of narrowly pleated black silk. The dress opens down the center front from the neckline to the lowest button; it fastens with fifteen rectangular jet buttons. The neckline is high and round and has a double collar: the inner collar is a standing style, made of the brown and blue check silk, and the outer collar of the black silk turns down. The sleeves are cut with an upper and lower seam like a coat sleeve, and are finished with a cuff of the brown and blue silk, trimmed with a pleated ruffle of the black silk. The armscyes are piped. There is a patch pocket of the brown and blue check on the right side; it is edged with a black silk ruffle across the top and along the bottom. There is a nine-inch-wide pleated flounce of the blue and brown check fabric around the bottom of the dress. (This fabric is actually a brown/blue check stripe alternating with a black stripe; only the brown/blue part is used for the center front panel. The pleated flounce around the bottom of the skirt shows the alternations of the stripe.)
The dress is fitted smoothly down the body in front with four darts extending from the hips to the bust, and with seaming in the back. The skirt panels flare in the back, leading to the train. The fullness is controlled with tapes inside the skirt. Tan cotton lines the dress. The bottom edge of the skirt is lined with dark brown cotton for a depth of 10 1/2 inches. It is finished with a black wool hem tape.
The dress is fitted smoothly down the body in front with four darts extending from the hips to the bust, and with seaming in the back. The skirt panels flare in the back, leading to the train. The fullness is controlled with tapes inside the skirt. Tan cotton lines the dress. The bottom edge of the skirt is lined with dark brown cotton for a depth of 10 1/2 inches. It is finished with a black wool hem tape.
Object number1956.3.3
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