Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
This dress was found in 1909 in the eaves of a house on Sanford Road in Wells, where Joyce Hutchins (the donor) grew up, but there is no verifiable information on who might have worn it. The two-tiers of flounces are typical of the 1850s, as are the loose pagoda sleeves, here with the cotton elbow-length engageantes, or undersleeves, still basted into the dress sleeves.
With the industrialization of the textile industry, printed cottons became readily available and some were deliberately designed so that the fabric could be used to trim itself. That is the case here, where a broad paisley border was printed on both edges of the fabric. The very edge of the border print ends with a delicate pattern, but the seamstress preferred to finish her flounces with the visually stronger horizontal design of the dark red and black band so she hemmed it accordingly. The narrow printed trim on the sleeves has been cut from the same area and carefully gathered to fit the curve of the hems. The dress also has tiny piping of the main fabric to finish the collar, waist, armscye, and edge of the top sleeve flounce.