Evening Dress with One Shoe
Brief Item Record
Title: Evening Dress with One Shoe
Creator: Russell & Allen
Date: 1892 (circa)
Description: Evening ensemble of ivory silk satin with gold and pink floral metallic brocade. Bodice: fitted princess-seam bodice with modified puff sleeves with gathers at the underarm and longer at the bottom of the sleeve than the top, and square neckline. Pink silk ribbon lacing closure at center front with hand-stitched thread eyelets; metal boning; metal hooks and eyes; pink synthetic lining; pink silk lining; white cotton grosgrain ribbon waistband; six-piece paneled back with slightly curved boat-neckline at back. 7 pieces of metal boning in back interior and interior grosgrain ribbon waist tape with hook and eye closures at front; two hooks at center back of waist tape (to connect to skirt). Synthetic additions at center interior front and hem of sleeves. Skirt: 6 gored panels and 3 godets; starched pink cotton lining; pink silk lining; natural cotton lining; tan grosgrain ribbon; back fullness and room for pad; longer in back; pink piping around waistband under grosgrain ribbon; one pocket on right hip; cream silk ruched trim at hem and one 2.5 inches up from hem. One matching shoe: brocade and leather; gold (leaf?); natural canvas; brass nails; pressed wood; two pieces of brocade on exterior; double bow at toe cleavage; pointed toe; Louis heel shape; 9 nails into heel.
Full Item Record
Dublin Core
Identifier
Title
Alternative Title
Description
Creator
Date
Subject
Extent
Skirt:center back length = 62(from bottom of waistband); skirt center front length = 41.75(from bottom of waistband); waist = 28; circumference at hem = 187.25
Ensemble: center back length = 74.5;
shoe: around a size 6N?;heel height=1.5 to 2; heel toe to heel= 9.25
Type
Temporal Coverage
Rights
Rights Holder
Costume Item Type Metadata
Cataloguer with Date
Sierra Starr
Margaret
3/24/10
Color Main
Neckline
Sleeve Type
Waistline
Skirt Type
Chest
Waist
Center Front Length
Center Back Length
Measurements Other
Skirt:center back length = 62(from bottom of waistband); skirt center front length = 41.75(from bottom of waistband); waist = 28; circumference at hem = 187.25
Ensemble: center back length = 74.5;
shoe: around a size 6N?;heel height=1.5 to 2; heel toe to heel= 9.25
All Measurements
Skirt:center back length = 62(from bottom of waistband); skirt center front length = 41.75(from bottom of waistband); waist = 28; circumference at hem = 187.25
Ensemble: center back length = 74.5;
shoe: around a size 6N?;heel height=1.5 to 2; heel toe to heel= 9.25
Label
References
Date Earliest
Date Latest
Culture
Gender
Classification
Category
Function
Condition Description
b. 2nd row of trim around hem partially detatched, fabric of skirt coming apart from waistband, natural linen original reinforcement for train safety-pinned to interior.
c. silk of shoe worn on the back of heel and left sided.
Mannequin
Storage Location
Holding Institution
Exhibition Notes
In 1894 Harpers's Bazaar wrote that 'satin to match the gown is still considered the proper footwear for evening,' so this shoe conforms to the correct standard of contemporary high society evening wear. This article implies that these shoes could only be worn with this dress, and that any other dress the wearer might have owned should have had its corresponding set of matching shoes. This practice would only have been sustainable by the very wealthy, identifying the owner of this dress as a member of the upper class who possessed the luxury to follow the latest fashion trends.
What are the social implications of wearing a shoe such as this? Actually, standing in and dancing on this shoe during a social function. Certainly, it functions of an indicator of status; A golden heel would have literally supported the wearer as she milled about a party. Both the bodice and skirt required a great deal of work; in fact, this work is ongoing. While the bodice has been successfully reinforced, the skirt is a victim of its own weight. Despite significant reinforcement of the fabric at the waistband and re-pleating of the skirt, it continues to tear just below wherever it is reinforced. This is likely due to the deterioration of the silk threads over decades of contact with their neighboring copper threads in the brocade. Researched and Stabilized by Sharon Scoble ‘10 and Sierra Starr ‘12
Pattern
Citation