Description:
Woman's two-piece printed cotton dress (hand sewn), consisting of a bodice and attached skirt, and a matching, separate pellerine. The dress opens down the center front of the bodice, then the opening continues down a skirt placket located at the proper left side front (akin to an asymmetrical apron front skirt). The skirt is cartridge pleated all around into the bodice except for the side apron front opening. Each fitted, gently curving long sleeve is made with one inside seam. The sleeves end in a gathered frill and a 2-3" slit that is secured with two brass hook and eye closures. The dress has a wide neckline and gathered material over the bosom, gathered into dropped front, self piped shoulder seams. The gathering terminates at the rib cage, where the bodice becomes quite fitted, ending in a shallow point. The dropped armscyes of the sleeves feature 6 rows of shirring at the upper arms, terminating in a gathered frill. Several details at the back of the bodce reveal this garment was remade from an earlier, probably late 1830s, dress. The fabric is pieced across the upper back, a closed seam down the center back reveals a former closure (evidence of previously-attached hooks and eyes still visible). The bodice is lined in a white plain weave cotton; the skirt is unlined. No boning in the bodice except for the proper right front edge, where the eyes are affixed.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+69.1168%2FA |
