1852 Pink Chinese silk dress
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1848-1854 A dress in pink and white patterned silk.
The dress has a day bodice and an evening bodice, to be worn with the same skirt.
The silk has a woven pattern in white on a pink ground and was made in China. The pattern repeat is 13" high by 8" wide.
Skirt description
The skirt is flat pleated into a 1¼" wide cotton waistband, and cartridge pleated each side of the centre back opening, for 5" to the left and 7" to the right, with a hook and eye fastening; the skirt has probably been been let out. The day bodice is slightly bigger than the evening one, so it is possible that the latter was made first and the day bodice a year or two later.
Evening bodice
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The back of the dress
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One of the net and lace sleeves on the evening bodice
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Detail of the front of the lace bertha collar on the evening bodice
Description
The evening bodice is lined with white cotton, with bones on the seams and bust darts. The waist is pointed at the centre front and back, with a piped edge, and there are nine hooks and worked bars down the centre back opening; the inside waistband is ¾" wide.
A Carrickmacross lace bertha collar, 6" deep, is sewn on to ¾" wide straight-edged lace round the neck, which has ¾" wide bobbin lace edging over the top; the neck edge has a ⅞" wide machine-made lace edging with a pink silk cord drawstring, which may not be original. The sleeves are 3" long over net undersleeves, which have ½" wide machine-made lace on the ends with frills of 1¼" wide Lille lace edging.
Hooks inside the waist on the side seams are to attach to worked loops on the skirt.
Day bodice
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The back of the dress with the day bodice
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The front neck of the day bodice
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One of the sleeves of the day bodice
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The gathers at the front waist of the day bodice
Description
The day bodice has loose front panels gathered into the shoulder seams, and gathered into a width of 4" which is 3½" above a rounded point at the waist.
It is open at the centre front showing the ivory cotton lining covered by strips of 2" wide Brussels appliqué bobbin lace.
The peplum is 2½" deep in front and 4¼" at the sides and centre back, with ivory silk fringe, ¾" wide, round the edge.
The lower part of the sleeves is flared and has two flounces, 5½" deep, which curve up at the centre, with ivory silk fringe, ¾" wide, on the edges. At the tops of the curves are 4½" lengths of 3" wide ivory/pink striped silk ribbon, pleated in the centre which is covered by pieces of the dress silk, reverse side showing, to look like bows; a bow motif of the same ribbon is at the front neck. The Brussels lace is on the sleeve ends, and round the 1½" wide muslin collar.
The centre back is fastened by15 hooks and worked bars, and there are bones on the side seams and bust darts.
Hooks inside the waist on the side seams are to attach to worked loops on the skirt; the inside waistband is ¾" wide.
Contemporary illustrations
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Mary Matthews, Madame de la Chere by Marcel Verdier, 1843. Sizergh castle
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Fashion plate from Magasin des Demoiselles, October 1848
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Fashion plate from Le Follet, March 1850
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Fashion plate in Le Bon Ton, August 1854
History
There is a hand written label which says:
"Hand looms 1840s-1850s
Silk weaving Chinese mills owned by Bentham Ullett, great uncle of Miss Irene Adcock, from whom I bought it."
The Hopkins Collection bought it at auction.
There seems to be little information about the Chinese mills: Robert Bentham Ullett was born about 1824 in Stow, Lincolnshire, and died in 1876 in Bloomsbury, London. His wife Mary had a daughter, Lucy Eden, born in 1854 in Shanghai, and baptised in1858 at Christ Church, North Brixton. It is possible that the dress was made for Mary Ullett.