Stomacher thumbnail 1
Stomacher thumbnail 2
Not on display

Stomacher

1730-1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A stomacher is a decorative panel of fabric, usually triangular in shape, worn to fill the space between the front edges of a woman’s open gown. The stomacher formed part of the ensemble of fashionable women’s dress from the 1680s to the 1780s. This example incorporates whitework embroidery, quilting and cording. In the latter technique, parallel lines of stitching have been filled with short lengths of linen cord, inserted from the back of the fabric. The bold design includes flowers, leaves, pomegranates and shells. As quilting and cording were popular techniques for petticoats and informal jackets, this stomacher may well have been part of a matching ensemble.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Linen; hand-sewn and hand embroidered
Brief description
Woman's stomacher of linen whitework, 1730-50, British; embroidered, corded, drawn-thread work
Physical description
Woman’s stomacher of fine bleached linen, lined with coarse linen dimity. It is corded and embroidered with linen thread in back and half-back stitches, French knots and drawn-thread work in a pattern of large flowers, fern leaves, pomegranates and shells. It is triangular, with a large rounded end at the bottom.
Dimensions
  • Length: 36.0cm (approx)
  • Greatest (at top) width: 28.0cm (approx)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Lewis Day
Object history
Registered File no. 9901/1926.
Summary
A stomacher is a decorative panel of fabric, usually triangular in shape, worn to fill the space between the front edges of a woman’s open gown. The stomacher formed part of the ensemble of fashionable women’s dress from the 1680s to the 1780s. This example incorporates whitework embroidery, quilting and cording. In the latter technique, parallel lines of stitching have been filled with short lengths of linen cord, inserted from the back of the fabric. The bold design includes flowers, leaves, pomegranates and shells. As quilting and cording were popular techniques for petticoats and informal jackets, this stomacher may well have been part of a matching ensemble.
Bibliographic reference
Avril Hart and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: the 17th and 18th centuries, London: V&A, 1998, p. 200
Collection
Accession number
T.209-1929

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Record createdJuly 23, 2007
Record URL
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