Dress

Object/Artifact

-

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Dress

Entry/Object ID

2014.37.1

Description

Ivory silk dress of pattern woven silk with a square neckline, high waist that sits just under the bustline, short puffed sleeves, and a relatively straight skirt. The bodice closes in the back with a fine drawstring in a narrow casing that runs around the front of the neck; two ties in the back, one for the neckline and the other for the waist. Decorated with a narrow box-pleated silk ribbon around the hem of the sleeves and a band of lace around the skirt hem. The lace may not be original. An unused length of the lace is sewed to the inside of one of the side seams of the skirt.

Made/Created

Date made

1805 - 1815

Material

silk ribbon, lace, pattern woven silk

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

This dress exemplifies the classically-inspired simplicity of the early 19th century. With its high waistline and low gathered neckline, it is made of a light-weight pattern-woven silk, and would have clung to the body of the woman who wore it. The only trims are the box-pleated ivory silk ribbon on the sleeves and the narrow ivory lace that edges the hem. Hairstyles and accessories also underwent great changes in this period. Most women cut their hair short and wore it close to the head, often with feathers and turbans for decoration. Flat slippers of fine kid or satin were the fashionable choice, a type of footwear that was highly inappropriate for the winter climate of northern New England. Woven shawls also became a popular—and warmth-providing—accessory. Worn with a pair of flat slippers in a contrasting color and a vividly bordered shawl, this dress would have been the centerpiece of a most fashionable ensemble.