Description
Handsewn day dress of green and black plaid silk taffeta woven with a narrow black satin stripe.
The basque bodice has double-tiered pagoda sleeves faced with bright green China silk below the elbow, and piped armscyes and neckline. The bodice fastens center front with hooks and eyes and is fully lined with brown cotton twill.
The skirt is very full and knife-pleated into the waistband, the pleats pointing either to center back or center front. The hem is edged with a horsehair ruffle (hem saver), and the skirt is lined in brown glazed cotton. It would have been worn over a cage crinoline.
The dress was enlarged, probably during its original wearing lifetime, as is indicated by visible original stitch lines on the bodice front darts and the enlargement of the waistband at center back with contrasting fabric.
Dimensions
Condition
The dress is in fair condition.
The bodice has a number of stains, especially at CB and underarms, the silk shattering in various spots, and has several darns. The skirt has scattered stains and tiny small holes throughout, and the hem saver is torn and abraded in several places.
Comments
In addition to the history of use suggested by the alterations, the dress is an interesting reflection of the penetration of the some of the technologies of the 1850s. It was made early in the commercial life of the lockstitch sewing machine, yet it is entirely handsewn.
The silk was probably colored with natural dyes, although at the time the dress was made, the first synthetic dyestuffs had just been introduced. Clearly, then, as now, it took time for new technology to penetrate the market.
The dress was formerly in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.