Thursday, December 12, 2013

1920's Teal Ruffle Dress

 This 1920’s dress is made out of a shiny teal colored Crepe de Chine silk fabric.

This dress has layers of ruffles of the teal colored Crepe de Chine silk starting from the waist all the way down the skirt. It also has the silk ruffles on each of the sleeves.

It has a cream colored lace collar at the neck area. It adds a nice accent on the teal fabric.

It has a very 1920’s shape. This is  because it has a very straight boxy silhouette which was the popular style for women’s dresses in this era.




Monday, November 18, 2013

Blue Silk Printed Edwardian Bodice


Beautiful, soft blue silk pigeon front blouse that dates to early 1900.  The blouse features 1/4” pintucks set into a yoke.  The front of the blouse is very full, and is gathered in to a blue waist band.  There is a blue peplum that has been added to the bottom of the waistband to keep it tucked into a skirt.  


The yoke has a 2” shaped band detail set on the edge that is cut on the cross grain. There is a small, 1/2” stand collar.  The blouse opens up the center back and has hooks and eyes that do no look original.  

The sleeve is very full with gathering at the top and also at the bottom where the sleeve ends in a cuff.  

The fabric is a plain weave china silk with a printed pattern. The blouse has a matching belt, and would likely be worn for daytime dress with a walking skirt.   


Monday, June 3, 2013

Velvet 1950s


 

  This dress was recently donated to us and it is an absolute delight. 
  After some research we have estimated that this garment is from the 1950s. 

 This estimation was based off of several factors, including: the fur collar, the length of the dress, the waistline, and the placement of the darts on the sides.


   This dress is a dark maroon color and, in length, it would land just below the knee. 

  There are 18 detailed buttons down the front, with 20 loops. 
     There is also a matching belt with the dress. 
 
    


















     The cuffs of the dress have detailed buttons. Another fun aspect is that there are even some shoulder pads as well. 

     As far as closures to the garment, there is a right side zipper in addition to the  18 detailed buttons and 20 loops. 

    The dress measures at a 38 inches bust, 30 inches for the waist, and 40 inches for the hips. 

     


Overall, this dress is in fantastic condition and is a really lovely addition to our collection.












Monday, May 27, 2013

Tan 1920s Day Dress


         With the release of  
The Great Gatsby it was fitting to be examining such a beautiful garment. This piece is a wonderful reminder of the roaring 1920s.  It is mid-calf length day dress. 














         


             










         The dress has a square patterned print as well as a V-Neckline with a tan collar and matching cuffs. 

    




                 The dress also has a dropped waistline, which was popular during this era. This waistline is accented with piping. The front of the skirt has a tulip shape skirt; however, interestingly, the back of the skirt does not. 


                                                                                 There are no real closures on this garment. There are 15 brown faux buttons that start at the V of the neck and go down the middle front to the waistline. 
 
    There is very little trim on this garment. There is lace on the cuffs of the sleeves as well as around the collar. The lace matches the tan color of these areas.
     


      This garment is in fairly good condition. The color has slightly faded from the garment. The fabric is also extremely fragile. There is  a medium sized tear on the right shoulder. 


     The dress is made of silk with a crepe weave. The bust measures 40.5 inches, the (dropped) waist is 36 inches, and the hips are 42 inches. The skirt length is 20 inches. 

       


         Interestingly, the garment is likely to be a costume creation. The fabric wear indicates, though, that this dress is at least 50 years old. 
         There are no tags as well as several areas (such as the waistline) where there are hand sewn stitches. 

1930s Lavender

 
This lavender dress is mid-calf length and originates from the 1930s. 

       The waistline is no longer dropped, as is was in the 1920s;  it has raised once again to the natural waistline. At this waistline, there are belt loops, but we do not have the belt.  

       There is also quite a bit of attention to the area just under the bust with a high arching seam.    


     Common for the 1930s was the amount of focus and detail that went into waistline and the bust to really emphasize a feminine, elongated figure.



  
         There is a lot of really great detailing in this the garment. One example of this is the trapunto styled flower designs along the top of the dress.
      
          
    

  

   Trapunto is common in quilting where the fabric is first detailed with a design and then stuffed to cause the detailing to be raised and accentuated.
      

      Another great aspect about this garment is the beautiful button detail along the shoulders and sleeves.

     This garment has a tulip shape skirt to create a wonderful flow to this day dress. This dress is made of wool with a plain weave.

     






   















               As far as closures, there is a zipper on the right side from bust to hip. There is also the button detail along the shoulder to the sleeves, as previously mentioned.
      
 
    
    This garment is in fair condition. Unfortunately, there are armpit sweat stains and patches of light damage. There is also a minor hole in the back of the skirt. 
      

       The Bust measures at 36 inches, the waist measures at 29 inches, and the hips measure at 36 inches, creating a lovely hour glass shape. This is a beautiful garment that has been in our display cases several times at our theater.