Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress

ca. 1845 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

This dress is typical of women's fashions of the mid-1840s. It has long, tight sleeves, a high, round neck and long, pointed waistline. It is made of silk satin in a tartan pattern. Tartan fabrics were very fashionable in the 1840s, thanks partly to the continuing popularity of Walter Scott's historical novels, set in Scotland. Queen Victoria (ruled 1837-1901) had just acquired a royal residence at Balmoral, Scotland, and set the fashion for all things Scottish.


Object details

Categories
Womenswear
Day Wear
Fashion
Textiles
SCRAN
Scotland
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Dress
Materials and techniques
Printed silk satin, trimmed with velvet ribbon, lined with cotton and silk, hand-sewn
Brief description
Dress of printed silk satin, England, ca. 1845
Physical description
Dress of silk satin with a high round neck, fitted bodice and a waistline with a rounded point to which the skirt is flat-pleated, except for a panel of tight gathering at the back. There is a front lace fastening. The sleeves are long with an open epaulette. The only trimmings are the agate stud buttons mounted on black velvet bows above the wrists. The bodice is piped on all the main seams, is lined with cotton and boned. The skirt is lined with yellow and white-washed and re-used figured silk. The back is softly interlined. There are yellow chamois dress preservers. Hand-stitched. The silk is printed in the Mackenzie tartan.
Dimensions
  • Shoulder to waist length: 14.5in
  • Bust circumference: 40in
  • Shoulder to hem length: 51.5in
  • Width: 27in
measured for a mannequin by Tex cons, object waist 68cm, bust 88cm, diaphragm 78cm, across back 38cm, nape-wasit 33cm, nape to hem 134cm, sleeve length 46cm, sleeve circ 30cm, cuff circ 19cm, neck circ 45cm, waist to hem 104cm, shoulder length 10.5cm.
Credit line
Given by Lady Lindsey
Summary
This dress is typical of women's fashions of the mid-1840s. It has long, tight sleeves, a high, round neck and long, pointed waistline. It is made of silk satin in a tartan pattern. Tartan fabrics were very fashionable in the 1840s, thanks partly to the continuing popularity of Walter Scott's historical novels, set in Scotland. Queen Victoria (ruled 1837-1901) had just acquired a royal residence at Balmoral, Scotland, and set the fashion for all things Scottish.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.169-1959

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O13837/dress-unknown/
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