Lace Wedding Dress of Susan Koelle Bell

Brief Item Record

Title: Lace Wedding Dress of Susan Koelle Bell

Date: 1903

Description: Cream lace wedding dress: lining made of silk taffeta; machine-made lace overdress. Square neckline; two darts bust to waist, two darts past the waist on the back, two small darts on side of lingerie straps of lining, all the darts are in the lining; full lining of silk taffeta, with camisole attached at waist; sleeves of overdress gathered at 3/4 mark on inside seam and flare out, has second layer with metal snaps to keep the lace close to the arm; torso is slightly gathered at center back; floor-length four-piece gored skirt; bottom of silk taffeta underskirt is pleated; picot edge hem done by machine; metal hooks and eyes at center; metal snaps at wrists and lingerie straps; lace overdress has a filigree design; grosgrain ribbon at back closures.

Full Item Record

Dublin Core

Identifier

VC2013008

Title

Lace Wedding Dress of Susan Koelle Bell

Description

Cream lace wedding dress: lining made of silk taffeta; machine-made lace overdress. Square neckline; two darts bust to waist, two darts past the waist on the back, two small darts on side of lingerie straps of lining, all the darts are in the lining; full lining of silk taffeta, with camisole attached at waist; sleeves of overdress gathered at 3/4 mark on inside seam and flare out, has second layer with metal snaps to keep the lace close to the arm; torso is slightly gathered at center back; floor-length four-piece gored skirt; bottom of silk taffeta underskirt is pleated; picot edge hem done by machine; metal hooks and eyes at center; metal snaps at wrists and lingerie straps; lace overdress has a filigree design; grosgrain ribbon at back closures.

Date

1903

Subject

Clothing and dress

Extent

28 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 34 inches (hips), 50 inches (center front length), 65.5 inches (center back length), 250 inches (hem circumference), 8 inches (underarm to waist).

Type

Physical Object

Spatial Coverage

United States

Temporal Coverage

1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s

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

Taylor Bowen, Alexandra Figler, and Arden Kirkland, 12/9/13

Color Main

cream

Closure

hooks and eyes

Closure Placement

center back closure

Neckline

square neckline

Waistline

natural waistline

Length

floor length

Costume Components

lining

Chest

28

Waist

25

Hips

34

Center Front Length

50

Center Back Length

65.5

Hem Circumference

250

Underarm to Waist

8

All Measurements

28 inches (chest), 25 inches (waist), 34 inches (hips), 50 inches (center front length), 65.5 inches (center back length), 250 inches (hem circumference), 8 inches (underarm to waist).

Donor

Susan Thompson Koelle Bell

Date Earliest

1903

Date Latest

1972

Culture

American

Gender

womenswear

Classification

costume
clothing

Category

Wedding

Function

wedding clothes

Condition Term

good

Condition Description

Stains on the skirt of the dress, mostly on the outer layer, but also a lot on the inner layer of the skirt on the inside. Some holes in the lace of both the underarms. A little bit of fraying at the back lining of the bodice, very minimal. The fabric has yellowed somewhat.



The dress was altered for the 1936 wedding of Anne Worthington Bowman Kinnaird.

Treatment

Place in freezer late December 2013 - January 2014; two white balls removed from front center lace skirt; mildew at inner top ruffle vacuumed.

Storage Location

S1

Work Type

dress

Tags

Citation

“Lace Wedding Dress of Susan Koelle Bell,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed June 8, 2025, https://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/4210.