Black Silk Bodice with Smocking
Brief Item Record
Title: Black Silk Bodice with Smocking
Creator: Liberty & Co.
Date: 1893-1897
Description: black silk bodice with smocking; Black silk satin, metal zipper, decorative covered wooden buttons, black synthetic, cream grosgrain ribbon
Silhouette: bodice.
Band collar with three columns of smocking, smocking below collar across shoulders; full length leg-of-mutton sleeves, three lines of smocking down the sleeve, with ruching in between, ruffle around cuff; front and back pleating; zipper down full length of back; synthetic fabric added to bottom of bodice; backs of sleeves, from elbow to wrist, are done in a different black fabric on both sides; gross-grain ribbon on inside, but it was at some point moved up from its original position.
Full Item Record
Dublin Core
Identifier
VC2001077
Title
Black Silk Bodice with Smocking
Description
black silk bodice with smocking; Black silk satin, metal zipper, decorative covered wooden buttons, black synthetic, cream grosgrain ribbon
Silhouette: bodice.
Band collar with three columns of smocking, smocking below collar across shoulders; full length leg-of-mutton sleeves, three lines of smocking down the sleeve, with ruching in between, ruffle around cuff; front and back pleating; zipper down full length of back; synthetic fabric added to bottom of bodice; backs of sleeves, from elbow to wrist, are done in a different black fabric on both sides; gross-grain ribbon on inside, but it was at some point moved up from its original position.
Silhouette: bodice.
Band collar with three columns of smocking, smocking below collar across shoulders; full length leg-of-mutton sleeves, three lines of smocking down the sleeve, with ruching in between, ruffle around cuff; front and back pleating; zipper down full length of back; synthetic fabric added to bottom of bodice; backs of sleeves, from elbow to wrist, are done in a different black fabric on both sides; gross-grain ribbon on inside, but it was at some point moved up from its original position.
Creator
Date
1893-1897
Subject
Clothing and dress
Extent
36 inches (chest), 28 inches (waist), 20.5 inches (center front length), 17 inches (center back length),
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
Cataloguer with Date
Anne Silk, Emily Leimkuhler, Candace 3.1.2010
Color Main
Chest
36
Waist
28
Center Front Length
20.5
Center Back Length
17
All Measurements
36 inches (chest), 28 inches (waist), 20.5 inches (center front length), 17 inches (center back length),
Label
Liberty and co. ______ and historic costume studio - 218 regent street??
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_&_Co.
Date Earliest
1893
Date Latest
1897
Classification
costume
clothing
Category
Condition Term
very good
Condition Description
lining is delicate but intact; abrasions on sleeves
Storage Location
M4
Holding Institution
Exhibition Notes
One clue to this bodice's history is its extensive use of smocking. This was a technique originally used in provincial dress. As industrialization and overcrowding began to take over Europe, and the fast paced modern urban life began to take its toll on city dwellers, many found themselves longing for the innocence they perceived in the life of the country peasant. By introducing the technique of smocking into urban fashions, women sought to bring the alleged innocence of rural communities into their modern lives.
This bodice was made by Liberty and Co. in London, one of the companies that pioneered the Aesthetic Dress Movement in England. This movement had its roots in the artistic dress the Pre-Raphaelite painters used for their models. Aesthetic Dress garments were intended to be less constricting, perhaps even worn without corsets. Indeed, this bodice's cream cotton lining has no boning or support sewn inside.
Researched by Anne Silk ‘13 and Emily Leimkuhler ‘10
This bodice was made by Liberty and Co. in London, one of the companies that pioneered the Aesthetic Dress Movement in England. This movement had its roots in the artistic dress the Pre-Raphaelite painters used for their models. Aesthetic Dress garments were intended to be less constricting, perhaps even worn without corsets. Indeed, this bodice's cream cotton lining has no boning or support sewn inside.
Researched by Anne Silk ‘13 and Emily Leimkuhler ‘10
Work Type
Citation
Liberty & Co., “Black Silk Bodice with Smocking,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed December 5, 2023, https://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/918.
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