Name/Title
DressEntry/Object ID
2004.13.10Description
Printed beige wool dress with blue floral pattern. Dropped shoulders with piping on sleeve tops. Three-quarter length sleeves with wide ruffles at the bottom, trimmed with piping. Closes at back of bodice with hooks and eyes. Front of bodice is gathered and ends in a dropped V-shaped waistline. Small standup collar. Bodice and sleeves lined with a twill fabric, probably cotton.
Rounded waistline that dips in the front, with piped trim. Front of bodice "pleated" and gathered into the yoke. Deep hem at bottom of skirt. Sleeve hems bound in self-fabric. Sleeves are lined in glazed cotton. The upper sleeve ruffle doesn't go all the way around the sleeve.
Skirt fabric panels 25" Back bodice boning is 3/8" wide, probably baleen. The fabric of the dress is turned under with a self facing 1 1/2" Hooks are attached to that. On the other side, only two eyes remain and they are incorporated to the lining twill fabric.Dimensions
Length
56-1/4 inDimension Notes
42" skirt length
20" dropped shoulder
1.25 neck band
18" sleeves
26" waistlineInterpretative Labels
Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
By the 1840s, the cost of printed wool fabrics had come down enough to make them a popular choice for day and work dresses. It was typical throughout the 19th century to use self-trim as decoration, as it served to focus the eye on the printed fabric patterns. This dress has both bias-cut strips applied to the bell-shaped sleeves and self-trim piping on the seams. The shirring at the waistline was a common bodice treatment, and was formed by a series of drawn cords pulled tightly together on the front panel. Skirts were full in the late 1840s and this one is cartridge-pleated all the way around. It would have been worn over several stiff petticoats to create a dome-like shape.