Description:
Woman's two-piece white linen summer suit (unlined) consisting of a high-waisted jacket with long peplum and long, A-line skirt. The suit, which was worn by Clara Alquist (1876-1944) of Deerfield, Massachusetts, is important for capturing the full, short-skirted style of women's fashions that began c. 1915, and more or less remained until the mid-1920s. Although a dressmaker or tailor probably provided the machine stitched suit for Alquist, the burgeoning department store sector began retailing similar ready-made clothing by this time. The jacket is constructed with flat-felled princess seams at the side back, sides, and side fronts. This flat-felling provides a stronger construction and underscores the practical nature of this fashionable suit. There is no center back seam. The jacket secures cetner front with a pair of crocheted-like covered wooden buttons, and fastens with a decorative half belt raised above the normal waistline) at both the front and back, giving the fashionable loose, but slightly raised waistline at this time, just before the 1920s.
Label Text:
Clara Alquist (1876-1944) wore this summer suit when she was in her early 40s. Perhaps worn during her earliest years in Deerfield, the practical garment undoubtedly proved useful during hot Connecticut Valley summers. Although a dressmaker or tailor probably provided the machine stitched suit for Alquist, the burgeoning department store sector began retailing similar ready-made clothing by this time.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+V.087A |
