Bodice
1740-1749 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A glistening yellow silk taffeta enhances this undecorated bodice of the 1740s. It is constructed from eight pieces of silk and has a boned centre back opening with a fly concealing the lacing. The waistline is tabbed and has a silk cord stitched along the edges of the tabs. The elbow-length sleeves have winged cuffs, pleated and stitched at the front to keep their shape. This style of cuff was fashionable in the 1740s and card or paste board were sometimes used for stiffening. A bodice of this style was worn by young girls and children, and as informal dress by adult women.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk, linen, baleen; hand-woven, hand-sewn |
| Brief description | Girl's bodice of yellow silk taffeta, 1740s British; back lacing, wing cuff |
| Physical description | Girl’s bodice of yellow silk taffeta with a wide, shallow neckline, elbow-length sleeves with wing cuffs, and a pointed waist, front and back, with short narrow skirts below. It is cut in 4 pieces, lined with linen, then whipped together. There are 18 worked lacing holes, asymmetrically placed, on a boned lacing band on each side at centre back. A ⅜-inch (8 mm) wide yellow silk grosgrain ribbon binds the neck and skirts at the hem. The cuffs are pleated at the inside elbow, extending beyond the circumference of the sleeve. The bodice has be carefully let out at the front/side seam. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by the Rev. R. Brooke |
| Summary | A glistening yellow silk taffeta enhances this undecorated bodice of the 1740s. It is constructed from eight pieces of silk and has a boned centre back opening with a fly concealing the lacing. The waistline is tabbed and has a silk cord stitched along the edges of the tabs. The elbow-length sleeves have winged cuffs, pleated and stitched at the front to keep their shape. This style of cuff was fashionable in the 1740s and card or paste board were sometimes used for stiffening. A bodice of this style was worn by young girls and children, and as informal dress by adult women. |
| Bibliographic reference | Hart, Avril and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries, London: V&A Publications, 1998, p. 86
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 870-1864 |
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| Record created | August 15, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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