Navy Ensemble with White Polka Dots

Brief Item Record

Title: Navy Ensemble with White Polka Dots

Date: 1870-1879

Description: Blue silk ensemble with white polka dots, with starched cotton(?) lining, solid navy blue silk, gray grosgrain ribbon, red velvet (synthetic), red velvet jacquard, starched white cotton lace, metal hook and eyes, elastic waistband ribbon, metal boning, fabric covered buttons ; Boned bodice (a) with 9 bones; buttons down center front, added red velvet panel with row of functional button holes, and row of sewn over button holes; mandarin collar with red velvet overlay and starched, knife pleated white cotton lace; full length fitted sleeves with red velvet inserts (faux slashing, two per sleeve); fitted cuff with red velvet faux piping and starched white lace with knife pleats; three decorative buttons per cuff; bodice flared at hips with box pleated fishtail at back; Bustle skirt (b): floor length; altered waistband; swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back; ruching below knee all the way around; olive linen with brown binding tape around hem; knife pleats on underskirt; brown lining comes up to calf from floor; bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist; hem of train slightly rounded.; I. blue silk with white polka dots, green cotton waistband, starched cotton(?) lining, solid navy blue silk, olive linen with brown binding tape around hem. gray grosgrain ribbon, red velvet (synthetic), red velvet jacquard, starched white cotton lace, metal hook and eyes, elastic waistband ribbon, metal boning, fabric covered buttons II. Silhouette: Bustle III. Boned bodice: Buttons down center front. Row of functional button holes (added red velvet panel), and row of sewn over button holes. Mandarin collar with red velvet overlay and starched, knife pleated white cotton lace. Full length sleeves with red velvet inserts (faux slashing, 2 per sleeve). Fitted cuff with red velvet faux piping and starched white lace with knife pleats. Three decorative buttons per cuff. Four seams at back. Flared at hips with box pleated fishtail at back. Bustle skirt: floor length. Altered waistband. Swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back. Ruching below knee all the way around. Knife pleats on underskirt. Brown lining comes up to calf from floor. Bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist. Hem of train slightly rounded.box pleated fishtail at back. Bustle skirt: floor length. Altered waistband. Swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back. Ruching below knee all the way around. Knife pleats on underskirt. Brown lining comes up to calf from floor. Bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist. Hem of train slightly rounded.

Full Item Record

Dublin Core

Identifier

VC2001141

Title

Navy Ensemble with White Polka Dots

Description

Blue silk ensemble with white polka dots, with starched cotton(?) lining, solid navy blue silk, gray grosgrain ribbon, red velvet (synthetic), red velvet jacquard, starched white cotton lace, metal hook and eyes, elastic waistband ribbon, metal boning, fabric covered buttons ; Boned bodice (a) with 9 bones; buttons down center front, added red velvet panel with row of functional button holes, and row of sewn over button holes; mandarin collar with red velvet overlay and starched, knife pleated white cotton lace; full length fitted sleeves with red velvet inserts (faux slashing, two per sleeve); fitted cuff with red velvet faux piping and starched white lace with knife pleats; three decorative buttons per cuff; bodice flared at hips with box pleated fishtail at back; Bustle skirt (b): floor length; altered waistband; swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back; ruching below knee all the way around; olive linen with brown binding tape around hem; knife pleats on underskirt; brown lining comes up to calf from floor; bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist; hem of train slightly rounded.; I. blue silk with white polka dots, green cotton waistband, starched cotton(?) lining, solid navy blue silk, olive linen with brown binding tape around hem. gray grosgrain ribbon, red velvet (synthetic), red velvet jacquard, starched white cotton lace, metal hook and eyes, elastic waistband ribbon, metal boning, fabric covered buttons II. Silhouette: Bustle III. Boned bodice: Buttons down center front. Row of functional button holes (added red velvet panel), and row of sewn over button holes. Mandarin collar with red velvet overlay and starched, knife pleated white cotton lace. Full length sleeves with red velvet inserts (faux slashing, 2 per sleeve). Fitted cuff with red velvet faux piping and starched white lace with knife pleats. Three decorative buttons per cuff. Four seams at back. Flared at hips with box pleated fishtail at back. Bustle skirt: floor length. Altered waistband. Swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back. Ruching below knee all the way around. Knife pleats on underskirt. Brown lining comes up to calf from floor. Bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist. Hem of train slightly rounded.box pleated fishtail at back. Bustle skirt: floor length. Altered waistband. Swag across front at knee length, gathered underneath bustle at back. Ruching below knee all the way around. Knife pleats on underskirt. Brown lining comes up to calf from floor. Bustle train gathered for volume and bustle accommodation at waist. Hem of train slightly rounded.

Date

1870-1879

Subject

Clothing and dress

Extent

32 inches (chest), 22 inches (waist), 40 inches (hips), 55 inches (center front length), 67 inches (center back length), 94 inches (hem circumference), other measurements: 18 inches (bodice center front length), 25 inches (bodice center back length), 37 inches (skirt center front length), 41 inches (skirt center back length)

Type

Physical Object

Temporal Coverage

1870s

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

Candace, Julie, Anne, Emily March 22, 2010; Quinn Milton and Jenny Doherty, 3/5/14

Color Main

navy blue

Color Secondary

red
white
brown

Technique

machine sewing

Dress Type

bustle

Closure

buttons
ties

Closure Placement

center front closure

Sleeve Type

straight

Waistline

natural waistline

Costume Components

lining

Chest

32

Waist

22

Hips

40

Center Front Length

55

Center Back Length

67

Hem Circumference

94

Measurements Other

18 inches (bodice center front length), 25 inches (bodice center back length), 37 inches (skirt center front length), 41 inches (skirt center back length)

All Measurements

32 inches (chest), 22 inches (waist), 40 inches (hips), 55 inches (center front length), 67 inches (center back length), 94 inches (hem circumference), other measurements: 18 inches (bodice center front length), 25 inches (bodice center back length), 37 inches (skirt center front length), 41 inches (skirt center back length)

References

McMurry 455-456 Tortota 333 - Figure 14.3 Gernsheim image 111 Tortora 329

Date Earliest

1870

Date Latest

1889

Gender

womenswear

Classification

costume
clothing

Category

Day Ensembles

Function

day wear

Public Information

The most defining characteristic of this period is the ‘backward thrust' of the garment (McMurry 455). The bustle began in the the early 1970's with a soft curve. While the bustle decreased in size and almost disappeared from 1875-1883, it came back in the 1880's as more of a ‘shelf-like projection' (Tortora 329). The smaller bustle on our garment is of this earlier, softer construction and shape. In addition, our bodice has a shorter basque, one of the characteristics of 1870's day dresses (McMurry 329). Our dress also has princess seeming in the back of the bodice and knife pleating on the skirt and lace trims, a technique that was a favorite of the day (McMurry 455). Furthermore, McMurry describes the 1870's as a 'period of transformation from making garments by hand to making them by machine' (McMurry 456). Our garment makes extensive use of machine sewing, especially in the seams and to sew the boning into the garment, but there is a bit of hand sewing as well. The pleated extension of fabric at the back of the bodice is very much like the pleated coattail of the 1870's that added additional fullness to the back (McMurry 455). Lastly, while we were first suspicious of the use of polka dots as a pattern of the era, I found a photo from 1873 of a bustle garment with a very similar pattern of white dots on a dark background, the dots were even approximately the same size as those on our garment (Gernsheim image 111).

Condition Term

good

Condition Description

Some repair work around the waistband ; Some patching around armpit ; Polka dots popping out

Storage Location

P10

Work Type

ensemble
bodice
skirt

Citation

“Navy Ensemble with White Polka Dots,” Vassar College Costume Collection, accessed December 4, 2023, https://vccc.vassarspaces.net/items/show/982.

Related Items:

http://vcomeka.com/vccc/images/2001.141.condition2010.pdf