Cream and Black Printed Silk Dress with Black Lace

Brief Item Record

Title: Cream and Black Printed Silk Dress with Black Lace

Date: 1900-1904

Description: Two-piece cream silk ensemble with black print and lace: boned, high-neck bodice with flutter sleeves, full skirt with bustle pleats and train.



; Cream silk ensemble with black print and black lace . Band collar covered in lace. Lace inserts trimmed with ruched ribbon. Ribbon tassels (2) at side closure (left). Flutter sleeve with diamond shoulder lace, ribbon trim. Under-sleeves missing. Black silk hem at waist with flower detail. Right front overlays left front, double breasted closure. Waist tape, hook and eye closures down center front and left front. Boning between shell and lining. (Lining might not be original.) Eyes at center back waist presumably for bustle hooks. Box pleat at center back. Backs of sleeves are gathered, as well as top into armscye. Full skirt with bustle pleats and train; pleated hem with lace trim; wide, black, zig-zag ribbon yoke pieces of cream printed fabric. Silk satin cream wide waist ribbon.

Full Item Record

Dublin Core

Identifier

VC2007033

Title

Cream and Black Printed Silk Dress with Black Lace

Description

Two-piece cream silk ensemble with black print and lace: boned, high-neck bodice with flutter sleeves, full skirt with bustle pleats and train.



; Cream silk ensemble with black print and black lace . Band collar covered in lace. Lace inserts trimmed with ruched ribbon. Ribbon tassels (2) at side closure (left). Flutter sleeve with diamond shoulder lace, ribbon trim. Under-sleeves missing. Black silk hem at waist with flower detail. Right front overlays left front, double breasted closure. Waist tape, hook and eye closures down center front and left front. Boning between shell and lining. (Lining might not be original.) Eyes at center back waist presumably for bustle hooks. Box pleat at center back. Backs of sleeves are gathered, as well as top into armscye. Full skirt with bustle pleats and train; pleated hem with lace trim; wide, black, zig-zag ribbon yoke pieces of cream printed fabric. Silk satin cream wide waist ribbon.

Date

1900-1904

Subject

Clothing and dress

Extent

34 inches (chest), 25.5 inches (waist), 60.5 inches (center front length), 69 inches (center back length), other measurements: Bodice: Chest 34, waist 26.5, CF length 26.5. CB length 18

Skirt: full waist 26.5, CF length 42.5, CB length 51,

Waistband: length 31 or 29, width 2.5

Type

Physical Object

Temporal 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

Color Main

Color Secondary

Chest

34

Waist

25.5

Center Front Length

60.5

Center Back Length

69

Measurements Other

Bodice: Chest 34, waist 26.5, CF length 26.5. CB length 18

Skirt: full waist 26.5, CF length 42.5, CB length 51,

Waistband: length 31 or 29, width 2.5

All Measurements

34 inches (chest), 25.5 inches (waist), 60.5 inches (center front length), 69 inches (center back length), other measurements: Bodice: Chest 34, waist 26.5, CF length 26.5. CB length 18

Skirt: full waist 26.5, CF length 42.5, CB length 51,

Waistband: length 31 or 29, width 2.5

Label

small tag 'Remington'

Donor

Marcia Goldman Widenor

Date Earliest

1900

Date Latest

1904

Gender

Classification

costume
clothing

Category

Function

Condition Term

good

Condition Description

a) good- a few stains and tears on outside, lining good shape

b) very good- a few stains

c) good

d) skirt has many stains of different sizes and colors, particularly on the front.

e) waist ribbon is missing closure and is fraying at both ends

Mannequin

new 7

Storage Location

L7

Exhibition Notes

This black and white silk day dress, the silhouette of which dates it between 1900 and 1904, has one major element missing. The high-necked day dress would have had long sleeves. The unfinished lower half of the armscye physically tells us what research confirms: as a day dress from this period, this garment must have had undersleeves. It probably had fitted black undersleeves, likely from the same black lace that appears throughout the rest of the dress.
At the turn of the twentieth century, women were beginning to enter the public sphere in ways they had not before, but they were nonetheless expected to cover all of their necks and arms during the daytime. The modern, visually dynamic fabric of this conflict between new innovations and older conventions.
While this skirt and bodice were in relatively good condition, there was still some conservation work to be done to ready it for display.  The black and white patterned silk was in good shape, but the more delicate fabrics had deteriorated.  In the bodice, the silk lining had shattered and was reinforced throughout.  The skirt's original lining had been cut out at the waistband, so separate petticoats are now used as the lining.  In both the skirt and the bodice, the black lace was torn, and black net was added to the lace to strengthen it to prevent further damage in stressed areas.  

Exhibited in "A Glimpse into Vassar's Secret Closet," 2010
Researched by Faren Tang ‘13
Stabilized by Julia Fields ‘12

Work Type

Citation

“Cream and Black Printed Silk Dress with Black Lace,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed May 31, 2023, https://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/1197.

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