Grey-Blue Silk Dress c. 1915

Another beautiful garment from the deep recesses of our storage. This is a full length silk dress, sewn all together as one piece. It has a narrow skirt, decorated with false,  fabric covered buttons from waist to almost hem down the center front. The skirt gathers into the center front seam, near the hem, causing it to gather inwards in the front, which in turn causes the drape you see. The skirt ends up being slightly shorter in front than in back. 

The dress also has a waist band which wraps around and attaches in back with small bow. The pigeon front bodice gathers in a V into the front of this waistband. A lace modesty guard in the deep V neck has been torn with time, but you can still see what purpose it once served. The rest of the lace on this garment is different from that seen in the modesty guard. On the six inch hip panels and lace collar we see a  cutwork bobbin lace (Honiton?). The modesty guard conversely is a machine made filet lace. The sleeves sport a different machine made lace. 

These sleeves, 3/4' in length, with a full outer sleeve decorated with buttons, and an gathered-in under sleeve made of lace with main fabric trim, are a good indicator of what this dress would have been worn for. 

It was probably a simple dinner dress, or a very nice day dress, as an evening gown would have had no sleeves, and a much deeper V-neck. This sleeve length and gown style indicate the garment dates to about 1914/15. 

The garment closes mostly with hooks and eyes, at the left shoulder and down the center back. It has a lining which also closes with hooks and eyes. The buttons are solely for decoration.

Some Measurements:

Bust: 40"

Waist: 24.5"

Hip: 38"

Neck to Waist Front/Back: 9.5/12.5"

Armscye to Armscye Front/Back: 24/16.5"

Skirt Length: 37"

The garment is still all in one piece, but not in excellent repair. There are several small tears and stains, the fabric is discolored, and the lace on the bodice is very worn and dingy.  It is, however, still an excellent representation of the fashions of the mid 1910s.

Blog Post by Kelsey Oliver :)

Early 1910s Day Dress

This garment is a cotton and lace day dress, probably from about 1912 or 1913, certainly pre-WWI. It sports the characteristic narrow skirt of the period, with a knee-length wider skirt over top. The light color also dates it to earlier in the period, but the fitted sleeves and shorter sleeves date it a little closer to the start of the war. 

The waistline is high, only a couple of inches below the bust, another common occurrence in early 1910 fashions. The stiff waistband looks like it might have been altered at some point in the 

dress's history, most likely recently, because of some residual hot pink thread. The square neckline of this garment is another good indicator that this garment dates to around 1910. 

       It intrigued me to see that this entire garment is made out of a machine-made net/mesh, overlaid with a Carrickmacross cutwork lace and embroidery, including the small ruffles at the neck, sleeves, and hems of both skirts. Its very very see-through. Fastening wise, the dress fastens closes with a series of hooks and eyes up the back, on both layers of the skirt and on the bodice. 

Over all the garment is in pretty good shape, with only a few small tears and stains.

Some Measurements:

Bust: 36.5"

Waist: 27"

Hip: 30.5"

Neck to Waist Front/back: 9.5/8.5"

Armscye to Armscye front/Back: 19.5/15.5"

                                                                                     

Skirt Length Under/Outer: 40/23"  

Blog Post By Kelsey Oliver :)