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Bodice

Bodice

  • Place of origin:

    Great Britain, UK (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1866 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Silk trimmed with bugle beads and silk fringe, lined with cotton, reinforced with whalebone

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Miss M. Frobisher

  • Museum number:

    T.174&A-1965

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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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.

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.

Place of Origin

Great Britain, UK (made)

Date

ca. 1866 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Silk trimmed with bugle beads and silk fringe, lined with cotton, reinforced with whalebone

Descriptive line

Bodice and skirt made of figured silk, Great Britain, ca. 1866

Categories

Textiles; Fashion; Day wear; Women's clothes

Collection code

T&F

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Qr_O13841
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