1830 Pale pink silk dress
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1828-1832 Very pale pink silk dress with cotton net oversleeves.
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The back of the dress
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Detail of the back waist
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Detail of the end of a sleeve
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Detail of the fabric
Description
The silk has a self woven pattern of spots in a trellis of tiny dots.
The bodice is lined with linen, the sleeves with cotton and the skirt with glazed cotton.
The centre back opening of the bodice is fastened by six hooks and worked bars. The neck edge has self piping and the centre front bodice seam and armhole seams are also piped; the side back seams have double piping.
The very full short sleeves are in the silk; the sleeve heads are cartridge pleated into the armhole seams and the lower ends into ¾" wide silk bands, with piping of matching silk satin on the lower edges. Long oversleeves of ivory cotton net are gathered into silk satin piping and sewn round the top of the sleeves. These narrow below the elbow and have turned back cuffs, 5" deep, with deep vandyke edges which are bound with ³⁄₁₆" wide strips of the satin, and have a ½" wide bobbin lace edging. The seam is open for 1½", edged with the satin and fastened with a hook and worked bar.
The 2" wide waistband is in a plain silk, with a hook and eye at its top edge at the centre back; worked eyelets are ¼" above the lower edge 2" each side of the centre back ends. Tapes, ⁵⁄₁₆" wide, are sewn on each end to be threaded through the eyelets, and tie at the front, although allowing for the slight overlap of the back edges only one eyelet would be needed. The dress would have had a belt, or be worn with a contrasting sash, which would have hidden the tapes.The skirt is pleated into the waistband, with 3" of cartridge pleating each side of centre back opening. The hem has a 4" wide band of padding between the lining and the silk.
The skirt has some discoloured patches.
Contemporary illustrations
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Jane Whittaker, Lady Crewe by Ramsay Richard Reinagle, 1828. National Trust
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Fashion plate in La Belle Assemblée, July 1831
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Sophie Legrand, Comtesse Walsh de Serrant, and her Children by Louis Hersent, 1832. Chateau de Serrant
_-_Jane_Whittaker_(1799%E2%80%931881),_Lady_Crewe_-_290440_-_National_Trust.jpg)
History
A fashion magazine in 1828 said: "Dresses are worn so much off the shoulders that a corset can no longer have epaulets or straps that are attached: the dress-makers therefore have contrived epaulets which are buttoned whilst the corset is being laced, and which are afterwards withdrawn."