Brown Plaid Day Dress
Brief Item Record
Title: Brown Plaid Day Dress
Date: 1850-1870
Description: ; brown silk with cream brown and black plaid, brown polished cotton, black cotton hem band, metal hook and eyes and snaps, covered buttons full skirt, fitted bodice with higher waist fitted bodice, two waist darts in front, princess seem at back ; two piece sleeve, ruching from shoulder to cuff and around cuff, black lace at cuff; seven non functional covered buttons at center front with interior hooks and eyes; high collar; full floor length skirt, pleats in front and back, one inverted pleat in center back; wide ruffle at hem, box pleats; polished cotton lining with wool hem band; snaps at waist
Full Item Record
Dublin Core
Identifier
VC2001149
Title
Brown Plaid Day Dress
Description
; brown silk with cream brown and black plaid, brown polished cotton, black cotton hem band, metal hook and eyes and snaps, covered buttons full skirt, fitted bodice with higher waist fitted bodice, two waist darts in front, princess seem at back ; two piece sleeve, ruching from shoulder to cuff and around cuff, black lace at cuff; seven non functional covered buttons at center front with interior hooks and eyes; high collar; full floor length skirt, pleats in front and back, one inverted pleat in center back; wide ruffle at hem, box pleats; polished cotton lining with wool hem band; snaps at waist
Date
1850-1870
Subject
Clothing and dress
Extent
28.5 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 33.5 inches (hips), 11.5 inches (center front length), 14.5 inches (center back length), 96 inches (hem circumference), 7 inches (underarm to waist). other measurements: neck: 14 arm length: 18.75
Type
Physical Object
Spatial Coverage
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
Turpin, Starr, Thompson, Boesche 3/3/2010
Color Main
Chest
28.5
Waist
25
Hips
33.5
Center Front Length
11.5
Center Back Length
14.5
Hem Circumference
96
Underarm to Waist
7
Measurements Other
neck: 14 arm length: 18.75
All Measurements
28.5 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 33.5 inches (hips), 11.5 inches (center front length), 14.5 inches (center back length), 96 inches (hem circumference), 7 inches (underarm to waist). other measurements: neck: 14 arm length: 18.75
Date Earliest
1850
Date Latest
1870
Culture
Gender
Classification
costume
clothing
Category
Function
Exhibitions
The First Students (2017)
Public Information
This brown, plaid day dress can be historically situated, like the establishment of Vassar College, in the 1860s.
Concerning its structure, the sleeves of the garment begin on the upper part of the arm, slightly below the natural shoulder. Its bodice hugs the torso of the body from the shoulders down to the waist, where it immediately widens into a round skirt. The dress would be worn with a hoopskirt and crinoline petticoat underneath, filling out the round shape of the skirt. Finally, silk taffeta was a commonly used fabric in the late 19th-century because of its crisp, yet smooth consistency that provided enough body to enhance the fullness of the skirt.
It is no surprise that the stylistic elements of this dress produce a daywear garment that is conservative. Wealthy women who were organizing the beginnings of the women’s rights movement, attending schools such as Vassar College, or working during the Civil War sought out crinoline day-dresses that could be worn with hoop skirts underneath instead of several petticoats because they were more comfortable. They also thought that simple patterns and subdued colors were more proper and presentable for class and work. One might find it interesting to observe how this idea of “properness” required for the average school day has changed from the 1860s to now.
Tortora, Phyllis, and Keith Eubank. “The Crinoline Period .” Survey of Historic Costume, Fairchild Books, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
Written by: Luke Morrison ‘18, Molly Lipkowitz ‘20, Noah Pliss 20’
Concerning its structure, the sleeves of the garment begin on the upper part of the arm, slightly below the natural shoulder. Its bodice hugs the torso of the body from the shoulders down to the waist, where it immediately widens into a round skirt. The dress would be worn with a hoopskirt and crinoline petticoat underneath, filling out the round shape of the skirt. Finally, silk taffeta was a commonly used fabric in the late 19th-century because of its crisp, yet smooth consistency that provided enough body to enhance the fullness of the skirt.
It is no surprise that the stylistic elements of this dress produce a daywear garment that is conservative. Wealthy women who were organizing the beginnings of the women’s rights movement, attending schools such as Vassar College, or working during the Civil War sought out crinoline day-dresses that could be worn with hoop skirts underneath instead of several petticoats because they were more comfortable. They also thought that simple patterns and subdued colors were more proper and presentable for class and work. One might find it interesting to observe how this idea of “properness” required for the average school day has changed from the 1860s to now.
Tortora, Phyllis, and Keith Eubank. “The Crinoline Period .” Survey of Historic Costume, Fairchild Books, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
Written by: Luke Morrison ‘18, Molly Lipkowitz ‘20, Noah Pliss 20’
Condition Term
good
Condition Description
Many tiny holes ; Armpit stains ; Torn lace
Storage Location
F5
Holding Institution
Work Type
Pattern
Citation
“Brown Plaid Day Dress,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed December 4, 2023, http://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/990.
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