Dress thumbnail 1
Dress thumbnail 2
+2
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress

c.1905 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This set consists of a separate skirt, a sleeveless jacket bodice, two separate sleeves and two deep curved crescent shapes, which were probably intended to form the front and back of a bodice, mounted on an undergarment. An original box for "Hayward's Lacemen" was given with the lace sections.

The sections are made entirely of hand-made bobbin and needle-lace, in a period when machine-made lace was ubiquitous. The design of the lace incorporates symmetrically organised daisies, lilacs, and other flowers, around inset medallions of 'point de gaze'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 6 parts.

  • Bodice
  • Skirt
  • Sleeve
  • Sleeve
  • Bodice Panel
  • Bodice Panel
Materials and techniques
Made from Brussels Point Duchesse lace
Brief description
Dress in 6 parts consisting of sleeveless jacket bodice, skirt, two sleeves, and two further shaped bodice panels, made of Brussels Point Duchesse lace, c.1905.
Physical description
This set consists of a separate skirt, a sleeveless jacket bodice, two separate sleeves and two deep curved crescent shapes, which were probably intended to form the front and back of a bodice, mounted on an undergarment. An original box for "Hayward's Lacemen" was given with the lace sections.

The sections are made entirely of hand-made bobbin and needle-lace, in a period when machine-made lace was ubiquitous. The design of the lace incorporates symmetrically organised daisies, lilacs, and other flowers, around inset medallions of 'point de gaze'.
Credit line
Given by Lucy Bulpin
Object history
The dress pieces belonged to the donor’s mother’s Danish great- aunt, Sophie Allcroft, neé Meyer (1869-1946). In 1907 Sophie married Arthur Allcroft, from the Dent- Allcroft firm of glovemakers. According to family tradition the dress was bought for her court presentation, but this never took place.

There is a similar set in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam which was worn at the German court by Mathilda, Gravin zu Dohna (1861-1943) of Ober-Schlesien. This example is illustrated in Spitz: Luxus Zwischen Tradition und Avantgarde , Museum fur Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Dortmund (Dortmund, 1995) and Kant in Mode / Mode in Kant 1815-1914 by Patricia Wardle and Mary de Jong (Utrecht, 1985). As Dries Debackere describes in his article (see References) a further set is in the collection of the Art and History Museum in Brussels.
Bibliographic reference
Dries Debackere, '(Un)constructed, Reconstructed and Deconstructed Again. An Examination of the Context, Reconstruction and Display Possibilities of Five Lace Panels for Use on a Gown, c. 1900–1910, at the MoMu Fashion Museum in Antwerp', Costume,2022, Volume 56 Issue 1, Page 26-50, ISSN 0590-8876
Collection
Accession number
T.79:1 to 6-2013

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMay 9, 2013
Record URL
Download as: JSON