Pink and Gray Bustle Ensemble
Brief Item Record
Title: Pink and Gray Bustle Ensemble
Date: 1876 (circa)
Description: Pale salmon and gray silk taffeta bustle ensemble, trimmed with pale salmon taffeta ruffles and white and gray tassel trim, swags, bustle, and train; fitted bodice with 3/4 sleeves, square neckline and triple button closure up front; skirt with fullness at back to accommodate bustle, train, pocket in right front of skirt.
Full Item Record
Dublin Core
Identifier
VC1992001
Title
Pink and Gray Bustle Ensemble
Description
Pale salmon and gray silk taffeta bustle ensemble, trimmed with pale salmon taffeta ruffles and white and gray tassel trim, swags, bustle, and train; fitted bodice with 3/4 sleeves, square neckline and triple button closure up front; skirt with fullness at back to accommodate bustle, train, pocket in right front of skirt.
Date
1876 (circa)
Subject
Clothing and dress
Extent
37.5 inches (chest), 23.875 inches (waist), 35.625 inches (hips), 50 inches (center front length), 74 inches (center back length), other measurements: Bodice: CB Length = 21 3/8(trim +1) Back neck to waist = 14 3/4 Waist = 23 7/8 Hip/Lower edge= 44 5/8 Underarm to waist = 6 3/4 Underarm to hem = 12 Front waist to neck = 7 1/2 (trim + 5/8) Front neck to hem = 14 1/8 Across shoulders = 14 1/2 Front width = 13 1/4 Back shoulders = 14 1/2 Back width = 11 5/8 BAck side seam to back sideseam = 16 1/4 Bust front 21 1/4 Sleeve length with trim = 15 1/2Skirt Waist = 25 3/4 Center Back length = 59 1/4 Center front = 42 1/2 Hip front = 23 5/8 Hip back = 12 Side seams = 43 3/4
Type
Physical Object
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Rights Holder
© Vassar College Costume Collection. Images in this collection may be used for teaching, classroom presentation, and research purposes only. For other reuse, reproduction and publication of these images, contact costumeshop@vassar.edu.
Costume Item Type Metadata
Cataloguer with Date
3/5/2010
Color Main
Chest
37.5
Waist
23.875
Hips
35.625
Center Front Length
50
Center Back Length
74
Measurements Other
Bodice: CB Length = 21 3/8(trim +1) Back neck to waist = 14 3/4 Waist = 23 7/8 Hip/Lower edge= 44 5/8 Underarm to waist = 6 3/4 Underarm to hem = 12 Front waist to neck = 7 1/2 (trim + 5/8) Front neck to hem = 14 1/8 Across shoulders = 14 1/2 Front width = 13 1/4 Back shoulders = 14 1/2 Back width = 11 5/8 BAck side seam to back sideseam = 16 1/4 Bust front 21 1/4 Sleeve length with trim = 15 1/2Skirt Waist = 25 3/4 Center Back length = 59 1/4 Center front = 42 1/2 Hip front = 23 5/8 Hip back = 12 Side seams = 43 3/4
All Measurements
37.5 inches (chest), 23.875 inches (waist), 35.625 inches (hips), 50 inches (center front length), 74 inches (center back length), other measurements: Bodice: CB Length = 21 3/8(trim +1) Back neck to waist = 14 3/4 Waist = 23 7/8 Hip/Lower edge= 44 5/8 Underarm to waist = 6 3/4 Underarm to hem = 12 Front waist to neck = 7 1/2 (trim + 5/8) Front neck to hem = 14 1/8 Across shoulders = 14 1/2 Front width = 13 1/4 Back shoulders = 14 1/2 Back width = 11 5/8 BAck side seam to back sideseam = 16 1/4 Bust front 21 1/4 Sleeve length with trim = 15 1/2Skirt Waist = 25 3/4 Center Back length = 59 1/4 Center front = 42 1/2 Hip front = 23 5/8 Hip back = 12 Side seams = 43 3/4
Date Earliest
1870
Date Latest
1880
Gender
Classification
costume
clothing
Category
Condition Term
good
Condition Description
Perspiration stains in underarms- starting to deteriorate. No tears.Missing 3 buttons (but only one would show). Skirt- hand stitches (in blue thread) at back of skirt are attempted repairs. Placket doesn't match up, perhaps as a result, altered for use as a costume. Tear in front second drape near CF.
Mannequin
has its own
Storage Location
L5, L6
Holding Institution
Exhibition Notes
The woman who owned and wore this dress was probably wealthy, based on the quality and expense of the fabric used, as well as the fact that she could afford a dress made especially for dinner. If correctly dated, the dress was worn in the years immediately following the Panic of 1873, a financial crisis that crippled the American economy. The crash was precipitated by booms in building – predominantly the new railroads – and exacerbated by large banks' speculative lending practices. The crash wrought massive unemployment across America, spurring the American labor union movement and directly responsible for the formation of several unions.
A woman who was able to keep up with current fashions, hire a dressmaker, and afford expensive fabrics in a time of such economic despondency was certainly a moneyed woman. At the end of Peterson's February 1878 etiquette article, the author makes note that, 'No dress is now considered too rich for a large dinner table. But as a true woman should never exceed her means, let her, if she has not the bright, rich dress, wear the best and prettiest she has, brightening it up as well as she can; and with a determination to be amiable and agreeable, she will hold her own with the best dressed at the table.â€
The authors of this broadly distributed magazine realized that not all women could afford a brand new dress, especially one made just for their dinner parties. Times were still tough for Americans in 1878, and few would have been able to afford such fine dresses. These authors were giving etiquette advice to all their readers, most of whom were probably struggling financially. Regardless of income, however, the women of the 1870's were witnessing social changes, as well as significant changes in their clothing, and this dress is an artifact of a changing society.
Researched by Madeleine Boesche ‘13 and Faren Tang ‘13Stabilized by Madeleine Boesche ‘13 and Candace Schuster
A woman who was able to keep up with current fashions, hire a dressmaker, and afford expensive fabrics in a time of such economic despondency was certainly a moneyed woman. At the end of Peterson's February 1878 etiquette article, the author makes note that, 'No dress is now considered too rich for a large dinner table. But as a true woman should never exceed her means, let her, if she has not the bright, rich dress, wear the best and prettiest she has, brightening it up as well as she can; and with a determination to be amiable and agreeable, she will hold her own with the best dressed at the table.â€
The authors of this broadly distributed magazine realized that not all women could afford a brand new dress, especially one made just for their dinner parties. Times were still tough for Americans in 1878, and few would have been able to afford such fine dresses. These authors were giving etiquette advice to all their readers, most of whom were probably struggling financially. Regardless of income, however, the women of the 1870's were witnessing social changes, as well as significant changes in their clothing, and this dress is an artifact of a changing society.
Researched by Madeleine Boesche ‘13 and Faren Tang ‘13Stabilized by Madeleine Boesche ‘13 and Candace Schuster
Citation
“Pink and Gray Bustle Ensemble,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed September 28, 2023, http://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/673.