Description:
Woman's one piece black silk dress, with outer layer of black lace/crochet. The neckline has a large square folded down collar of the black lace/crochet. There is center front closure of 11 alternating hook and eye closure; this opening is concealed by a lace/crochet piece along bodice front. Lapel like effect created by black satin lapels tapering to waistline. From shoulder to waistline, on each outer side of lapels, are three pleats. The bodice has a 5.0" back peplum, trimmed with black satin that begins with the back side seams. The long sleeves are trimmed at the cuffs with matching black satin and lace/crochet. The skirt has a black satin belt, fastening with three hook and eye closures. Skirt itself is black satin, with eight sets of six button groupings down center front. There are two inverted center back pleats, at the waistline. The black lace/crochet netting extends over the skirt on each side of front, where it loops around to the back. The inside of the bodice is lined in off-white china silk. On the petersham or waistband stay inside is a black label with white lettering "Allebone/ New York," an as-yet unidentified dressmaker. Handwriting on a muslin swatch stitched to the inside of the skirt reads "Miss [T?N?] R Hopkins." This dress is a good examples of the simplification in construction of women's dresses before World War One; the straight, one piece, front opening construction is far removed from the curvaceous and elaborate two-piece dresses popular in the first decade of the twentieth century. And yet this more modern example still retains elements of earlier dress, in the bodice lining, petersham, and layers of fabric.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+T.053 |
