Description:
Jacket, part of a woman's c.1885 riding habit consisting of the jacket, along with an asymmetrically cut, side-saddle skirt, one pair of trousers, and riding crop. The riding ensemble was custom made for Anna M. Dakin (1860-1897) of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1889, a second riding jacket (HD 2022.15.2) was made for the ensemble by London tailor Dore, when Anna, her sister Emily, and others traveled to Europe and Italy. The c.1885 riding jacket, skirt, and bottom half of the trousers are made from a dark blue, fine wool broadcloth (woven in a twill weave), with various linings, interfacings, and stiffeners. The original c.1885 riding habit was made by L.P. Hollander & Co. of Boston. Both it and its wearer are depicted in a posed studio photograph (2022.15.6). The original iteration of the riding habit may have been before Anna M. Dakin married George R. Bond (1855-1943) of Springfield in 1890. It is possible that the couple traveled abroad for their honeymoon, and the second riding jacket obtained at that time from the London tailor Dore.
Label Text:
Building a Collection, September 27, 2025-February 23, 2025: This stylish riding habit, consisting of a fitted jacket, breeches, side-saddle skirt, and crop, were worn by Anna M. Dakin (1860-1897) of Springfield, MA. The voluminous skirts were made to accommodate riding side saddle. The ensemble came to Historic Deerfield with two different jackets, one shown here with decorative braid fastening (also called frogging) dating to the mid-1880s, and another probably acquired later in London while Anna was on a European tour with friends prior to her 1890 marriage to George R. Bond (1855-1943). Women’s riding habits were traditionally made with fine wool broadcloth, which aligned them closely with masculine suiting, and tailors (rather than dressmakers) often created them. This jacket, however, bears the label “L. P. Hollander,” indicating that it was created by one of the premier clothing emporiums in Boston, probably in its custom dressmaking shop. L. P. Hollander’s founder, Marie Theresa (Baldwin) Hollander, was a passionate abolitionist and early supporter of woman’s suffrage.
Tags:
equestrians Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Wool Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2022.15.1 |
