Description: Woman's one piece, CB-fastening dress of polychrome printed cotton. The bodice front, including the neckline, is gathered into a V-shape, with each side gathered into a shoulder seam and the waistband. The shoulder seams are piped, and regularly placed. Armscyes, which are also piped, are dropped. The large leg o' mutton sleeves are gathered into each armscye. Each sleeve has a single, curved underarm seam (for shape) that is piped. Darts and patches at the head of each sleeve may not be original. The neckline is shallow and rounded in back, edged with self fabric and piping. The CB opening originally fastened with 9 hook (proper right) and eyes closures. On either side is a curved decoration of self-fabric and piping, to imitate back seams (a fan back). The waistline dropes 3 1/4" from the bottom of the armscye at the side seam. The bodice and skirt join by means of a 1 1/4" wide waistband, which would have been covered by a belt, now missing. Skirt finely gauge-pleated into waistband all around. Skirt made up of 4 widths of fabric, each 26 3/8" wide, selvage to selvage. On either front seam, 3" down from waistband, is a vertical ruffle simulating a pocket opening. There is only one, however, on the proper right side. The skirt is unlined. CB of skirt has a piece 13" x 8" cut out of it, in a modern attempt to patch other areas of the dress (like the heads of sleeves). Bodice is lined in a bleached cotton which matches the waistband. Lining and bodice were made together, not separately, as in the eighteenth-century.
Subjects: Textile fabrics; Brass; Cotton Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2000.6.1 |