Brown Silk Bodice with Double-Pointed Waist
Brief Item Record
Title: Brown Silk Bodice with Double-Pointed Waist
Date: 1863 (circa)
Description: brown silk close-fitting bodice with points at waist; neckline high in back and front, with black lace around edge; cut in 3 pieces, one for back, one for each side of front; two darts either side of CF, going from under bust to the two points extending below waist at front; only one point extending below waist in back; CF hook and eye closures, decorative buttons; two rows horizontal lace and braid across bust; dropped shoulder, full-length sleeves, one piece, with dart at back of sleeve from wrist to elbow, triangular insertion or possibly just shaping at inner wrists. button detail, lace and braid trim looping around outside of sleeve; bodice lining cotton; sleeve lining silk, with silk pleating at inner cuff: metal hooks and eyes, cream silk, brown cotton, metal boning; black silk braid
Full Item Record
Dublin Core
Identifier
VC2001167
Title
Brown Silk Bodice with Double-Pointed Waist
Description
brown silk close-fitting bodice with points at waist; neckline high in back and front, with black lace around edge; cut in 3 pieces, one for back, one for each side of front; two darts either side of CF, going from under bust to the two points extending below waist at front; only one point extending below waist in back; CF hook and eye closures, decorative buttons; two rows horizontal lace and braid across bust; dropped shoulder, full-length sleeves, one piece, with dart at back of sleeve from wrist to elbow, triangular insertion or possibly just shaping at inner wrists. button detail, lace and braid trim looping around outside of sleeve; bodice lining cotton; sleeve lining silk, with silk pleating at inner cuff: metal hooks and eyes, cream silk, brown cotton, metal boning; black silk braid
Date
1863 (circa)
Subject
Clothing and dress
Extent
32 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 16 inches (center front length), 16.5 inches (center back length), other measurements: neck to shoulder seam=9;shoulder seam to wrist=18
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
??? 3/1/2010; Margaret Thompson 4/2/2010
Color Main
Chest
32
Waist
25
Center Front Length
16
Center Back Length
16.5
Measurements Other
neck to shoulder seam=9;shoulder seam to wrist=18
All Measurements
32 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 16 inches (center front length), 16.5 inches (center back length), other measurements: neck to shoulder seam=9;shoulder seam to wrist=18
Date Earliest
1858
Date Latest
1868
Gender
Classification
costume
clothing
Category
Condition Term
good
Storage Location
K4
Holding Institution
Exhibition Notes
The stiff, tight, boned bodice is quite severe. The dark colors, minimal horizontal decorations, and plain coat sleeves combine to give it a somewhat masculine feel, and even a slight militaristic feel. The minimalism and militaristic quality are not unexpected, as the bodice is from the Civil War era. The bodice is also rather large for the time, suggesting that it may have been worn by an older woman. The severity of the style thus might be explained as much by the age of the wearer as by the time period.
Dating these two bodices was a difficult task. As the bodices are definitely intended for wear during the day, they are somewhat simpler and more subdued. Fashions in day dresses changed far less radically than fashions in evening dresses. The associated skirts for these bodices might have helped date them, but it is not surprising the skirts have been lost. They may well have been taken apart, altered, or otherwise reused. Skirts were often designed to go with multiple bodices, and so the skirts associated with these bodices may have seen a great deal of use and simply not survived the last 150 years. The skirt for the earlier bodice, in particular, as it came from the Civil War period, was probably taken apart and reused, as by all accounts ladies in the Civil War were forced to practice some economy in their dress--though admittedly less so in the North, where this bodice in all likelihood originates.
Researched by Margaret Thompson ‘10
Dating these two bodices was a difficult task. As the bodices are definitely intended for wear during the day, they are somewhat simpler and more subdued. Fashions in day dresses changed far less radically than fashions in evening dresses. The associated skirts for these bodices might have helped date them, but it is not surprising the skirts have been lost. They may well have been taken apart, altered, or otherwise reused. Skirts were often designed to go with multiple bodices, and so the skirts associated with these bodices may have seen a great deal of use and simply not survived the last 150 years. The skirt for the earlier bodice, in particular, as it came from the Civil War period, was probably taken apart and reused, as by all accounts ladies in the Civil War were forced to practice some economy in their dress--though admittedly less so in the North, where this bodice in all likelihood originates.
Researched by Margaret Thompson ‘10
Work Type
Citation
“Brown Silk Bodice with Double-Pointed Waist,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed December 2, 2023, https://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/1008.