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Dress

Dress

  • Place of origin:

    Paris, France (made)

  • Date:

    1869-1870 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Vignon (designer)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Ribbed silk trimmed with satin, faced with cotton, brass

  • Museum number:

    T.118 to D-1979

  • Gallery location:

    Fashion, room 40, case CA7, shelf FIG2

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Vivid magenta-coloured silk gives this dress a rich and flamboyant appearance. It was probably dyed with one of the new synthetic colours produced from the late 1850s onwards, although intense hues could also be created using natural dyes. The artificial forms of magenta were very popular and a battle for patents began as dyers sought to distinguish their inventions from those of their competitors. In reality many of the dye samples from different manufacturers looked exactly the same, and it was only the exotic names, claims on colourfastness and improved visual quality that set them apart. Other disputes arose over the health risk posed by the wearing and production of garments coloured with synthetic dyes. In the early 1870s a German chemist found traces of arsenic in fabric dyed with magenta, which could leak out in washing, rain or perspiration. There were also reports of serious skin conditions caused by exposure to aniline dyes, and a dye firm in Switzerland was forced to close in 1864 due to arsenic pollution.

Brightly coloured fabrics also led to words of advice from the fashion magazines. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine of March 1868 recommended that there should be no more than 'two positive colours in a lady's toilet' and that 'very bright tints' should be toned down with white, black or grey to prevent a gaudy appearance. Two shades of the same colour were considered very fashionable, particularly if the trimmings were of a contrasting fabric. (In this example, the difference in colour between the thread and material may have become more evident over time.) Satin bows and pleated bias-cut trimmings complement the ribbed silk of this dress perfectly, while delicate puffs of tulle inserted into the sleeves soften the impact of the dramatic colour. These details reveal the skill of eminent couturiers such as Madame Vignon, the maker of this gown, who was also patronised by the fashionable Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.

Physical description

Dress made with two different bodices, skirt, peplum and bow made of magenta-coloured ribbed silk trimmed with satin.

[Jacket bodice] Bodice is just over waist length, fitted with darts and has a high round neck and long sleeves. It fastens in the front with concealed hooks, eyes and buttons from just above the waist. The front and the sleeves are trimmed with ruchings trimmed with matching satin bows, arranged to frame a series of diamond-shaped voids, filled with gathered tulle. Satin bows are stitched at the centre back. It is lined with white silk, boned at the side seams, faced with cream silk ribbon and the bust is padded. The cream silk waistband fastens with a double-pronged white metal hook.
[Jacket bodice] Second bodice is constructed and lined in a similar fashion to the first but has an applied trimming on the front which fastens with matching re-embroidered buttons, at the back and at the cuffs.
[Peplum] Peplum consists of two gauged trapezoidal panels with graduated pendants and square ends.
[Bow] Bow consists of a double-looked flat bow with two rounded pendants and square ends.
[Skirt] Skirt is straight-cut in the front with a pleat at each side at the waist band, gored at the sides and has a straight-cut back with a train, gathered at the waist. From the knee to the hem it is trimmed with graduated rows of scalloped flounces. The waist band is faced with white cotton and has button-holes to fasten the petticoat. It fastens at the back with brass metal hooks and eyes. It is unlined but the hem has a broad facing of cream stiff cotton and this also faces the front, under the flounces. The hem has a matching woollen brush braid. There is a beige-brown tape attached at each side, presumably to hold in position.

Place of Origin

Paris, France (made)

Date

1869-1870 (made)

Artist/maker

Vignon (designer)

Materials and Techniques

Ribbed silk trimmed with satin, faced with cotton, brass

Marks and inscriptions

[Jacket bodice] 'FOURNISSEUR BREVETE DE S.M.L. IMPERATRICE MD VIGNON, / 83 Rue de Rivoli / PARIS'

Descriptive line

Silk dress with bodice, jacket, skirt, peplum and bow, designed by Madame Vignon, Paris, 1869-1870.

Materials

Silk; Satin; Baleen

Techniques

Machine sewing; Hand sewing

Categories

Embroidery; Fashion; Accessories; Women's clothes

Collection code

T&F

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Qr_O115837
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