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

Dress

1845-1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

By the end of the 1840s, the wide neckline had closed up to a high, round opening. The waist remained long and narrow, ending in a point below the waistline. This particular example is made of silk satin, striped in a complex arrangement of purple, crimson, magenta, grey and white. The sleeves are beginning to widen at the wrist into a slight bell shape. This dress was probably made in the mid-1840s and then altered about five years later to accommodate a change in style. The sleeves have had gores inserted at the wrist to bring them up to date with the new fashion.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Dress
  • Dress
  • Dress
Materials and techniques
Silk satin, lined with cotton, edged with brush braid, hand-sewn
Brief description
Dress, 1845-1850, English; Pink silk with red and grey stripes
Physical description
The dress has a high neck and long fitted bodice. The waistline is deeply pointed and the skirt attached to it with tight gathers. The front of the dress is trimmed with a row of motifs in tasselled braid. The dress fastens at the back, the bodice lined with cotton and boned on the main seams. The skirt is lined with stiffened cotton and interfaced at the hem where it is bound with brown wool braid. The side seams have been enlarged and gores have been inserted to widen the sleeves at the wrist.
Dimensions
  • At back length: 156.8cm (Note: measurement converted from department register)
  • Across shoulders width: 46.9cm (Note: measurement converted from department register)
  • Hem width: 180.3cm (Note: measurement converted from department register)
Credit line
Given by Mrs C. R. B. Eyre
Object history
Worn by Isabella Frances Cookson (married 1847, died 1853)
Summary
By the end of the 1840s, the wide neckline had closed up to a high, round opening. The waist remained long and narrow, ending in a point below the waistline. This particular example is made of silk satin, striped in a complex arrangement of purple, crimson, magenta, grey and white. The sleeves are beginning to widen at the wrist into a slight bell shape. This dress was probably made in the mid-1840s and then altered about five years later to accommodate a change in style. The sleeves have had gores inserted at the wrist to bring them up to date with the new fashion.
Collection
Accession number
T.856-1919

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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