Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress

ca. 1866 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dress is a typical example of women’s fashionable day wear from the mid-1860s. The contours of the crinoline have altered from a bell shape to a profile that is fairly flat in front, with the bulk of volume at the back. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine of 1865 reported the change as follows: ‘Dresses incline more and more to the Princess Shape. All the widths are gored, the skirt is scant and short at the front and forms a long sweeping train at the back.’ The subtle stripes of grey, blue and black are left unadorned, except for a bugle bead and silk fringe which decorates the bodice, the edge of the collar and the over-sleeves.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Bodice
  • Skirt
Materials and techniques
Silk trimmed with bugle beads and silk fringe, lined with cotton, reinforced with whalebone
Brief description
Bodice and skirt made of figured silk, Great Britain, ca. 1866
Physical description
Bodice and skirt made of figured silk. Vertical stripes in blue with a chiné pattern border banding a panel of grey-blue with narrow black stripes. Machine and hand-sewn.

The bodice is fitted, fastens at the front, has a slightly high waist, a narrow collar, and long tight sleeves with a slit. Trimmed with blue silk bows which are bordered with clear glass beaded braid and silk fringe. A similar line of trimming is stitched across the bodice to suggest a yoke. There are harmonising glass stud buttons. Lined with cotton. Two small bones at the waist darts and on the side seams.

The separate skirt is gored and has a small train. It is pleated with the folds arranged so that they run from the centre-front double box pleat with inverted pleats at its sides towards the centre back.
Credit line
Given by Miss M. Frobisher
Summary
This dress is a typical example of women’s fashionable day wear from the mid-1860s. The contours of the crinoline have altered from a bell shape to a profile that is fairly flat in front, with the bulk of volume at the back. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine of 1865 reported the change as follows: ‘Dresses incline more and more to the Princess Shape. All the widths are gored, the skirt is scant and short at the front and forms a long sweeping train at the back.’ The subtle stripes of grey, blue and black are left unadorned, except for a bugle bead and silk fringe which decorates the bodice, the edge of the collar and the over-sleeves.
Collection
Accession number
T.174&A-1965

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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