Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
While some of the construction features of this garment are typical of the 1840s, others are not. The long pointed and pleated bodice was fashionable at mid-decade, as was the fine piping on the seams. The sleeves are quite narrow and cut on the bias, as was usually the case. However, this dress closes up the front—a feature not generally found in women's dresses of the period. The skirt construction is also unusual. Instead of cutting a deep V-shaped opening at the front of the skirt and pleating it into the bodice all the way around, the dressmaker chose an easier method. She simply gathered the skirt material at the front and let the bodice point lie unattached over the underlying fabric. Since this dress was not made by a particularly skilled seamstress, it is quite possible that it was homemade. Lydia Jane Gray is supposed to have worn it when she married John Haley Rose of Biddeford in 1846. John was a stone cutter, so the couple was not wealthy and Lydia would have almost certainly made her own wedding dress.