Description:
Until well into the 20th century, a woman's wedding gown was frequently a color other than white. After the wedding, such a dress often became the new bride's best dress. As such, a darker color was more practical than a lighter one. This wedding gown was worn by Helen Lamont Crafts (1852-c.1932) on her marriage to George A. Crafts September 6, 1897, this wedding gown consists of a bodice, skirt, and matching petticoat that are both machine stitched and hand sewn. Helen was previously married to Seth Crafts, whom she wed in 1874. Also unlike many of today's wedding dresses, Crafts' wedding gown differs in that it was not brand new for her marriage. Rather, it was altered from an earlier, mid-late 1880s one. In her altered dress, there is nevertheless an attempt to create a fashionable appearance with those alterations, including the modified volume of the sleeve heads, gathered shoulder flounces, rounded waistline, and gently flaring skirt. Aspects of the gown that reveal its 1880s origins include the fabric, darted waistline front, pointed bodice edges at both the front and back, and the buttons securing the center front of the bodice. The gown may have been altered by Crafts herself, or with the expertise of an area dressmaker. The gown well-illustrates both the economic reuse of clothing even at the end of the 19th century, as well as the access Franklin County inhabitants had to current fashion. Publications such as Godey's Ladies' Book (published until 1898) and Harper's Bazar provided useful information on current fashions to women and their dressmakers.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2014.17.1 |
