1879 Reception dress

1879 Reception dress
Date	1878-1882
Category	Women
Item	Dress
Fabric	Silk faille, Satin
Decoration	Lace
Wearer	-
Maker	Gainsford & Co
Acc. no.	HC.D-0.16

1878-1882 An afternoon reception dress in fawn silk faille.

The dress from the side
The back of the dress
Detail of the front of the neck
The lower edge of the bodice fronts
Detail of the trimming round the end of a sleeve
The end of a sleeve
Detail of the hem showing the cord for lifting the train
Detail inside showing the label on the waistband and the two hooks at the top of the skirt; at the right of the image the slit in the front edge can be seen, which allows it to curve into the waist.

Description

The dress is trimmed with ivory silk satin which also forms the centre front panel of the skirt.

The bodice front is separate from the skirt, and finishes below hip level; the back panels are princess line, extending from the back neck down to the end of the long train. The front skirt panels continue up to the waist, under the bodice, with the opening at the side front, and a self waistband, 1½" wide, with two hooks and eyes 1½" apart along it.

The bodice is mounted on ivory cotton twill which has a woven pattern imitating moiré, and the skirt is unlined. There are bones above the waist on the side seams and the front darts and some padding above the bust. The inside waistband is 1⁵⁄₁₆" wide with two hooks and eyes.

The bodice is fastened down the front with 15 buttons and buttonholes; the buttons are covered in cream silk faille with a rim of the ivory satin. A Lille lace edging, 2" wide, is sewn on in zig-zags down the front as a waterfall. Triangles of the ivory satin are on the lowest front edges each side, going 4¾" up, with the last three buttons on them. Another triangle is sewn each side at an angle from the top to look as if the edge has been folded back; the outer edges are piped with the satin, as are the lower edges of the bodice.

The 1" high stand collar has piping on the top edge, and has a hook and worked bar at the base of the front edges. A double strip of pleated silk gauze, 1⅛" wide on a ¼" wide heading, is box-pleated round the inside, with ¾" showing; ⅛" of the top edge is folded over as a hem, and the lace edging is sewn on in zig-zags round the outside.

The sleeves have three slashes at the top, ¾" apart, the front one is 2¾" long and the others are 3¾" long; their edges are piped as are the armhole seams. Ruched ivory satin is pulled through the slashes. The ends of the sleeves are shaped up to points on the outside with three ¼" bands between faille bands, held by a gathered band at the point. Below that is a 2" deep band of pleated ivory satin under 1" of the pleated lace, with ¾" of the lace underneath. Just showing from inside the ends is a triple layer of the pleated gauze, 1¾" wide.

The front skirt has a horizontal seam 9½" down from the waist, hidden under the front bodice. Below that, the satin centre panel has a band of satin each side, 2⅜" wide, joined at the top and 10" apart at its lowest edge. The ends are mitred and continue horizontally over the side front panels joining the side seams 9" above the hem. The centre has four sections of tight gathers, graduated in size, controlling five sections of looser gathers, the lowest appearing as a frill although stitched down, and has a pleated frill of faille on its edge, 1¾" deep, 2¼" above the hem. The side front panels have four pleats half way down the centre front seam and six deeper pleats into the seams with the back; these do not align and result in a loose draped effect which slopes up towards the back. The side back panels have three pleats into the side seams 4½" below where the front bodice joins; inside at this point a tape is sewn each side to the seam-turning to pull in the fullness at the back and another pair of tapes is similarly sewn 12" up from the hem. Three tapes are sewn under the waistband inside the back waist, and the stubs of three tapes are visible at the top of the tarlatan lining over the back seams, to pull up the back skirt up into puff when tied to the tapes from the waist (there are modern replacements).The whole of the back skirt has a lining of tarlatan from 25" below the waist to the end of the train where it is 48" deep.

The hem all round is cut into shaped tabs 3½" deep, 4¼" wide at the top and 2½" at the bottom, the edges are piped with ivory satin, and pleated ivory satin shows in the gaps. Pleated tarlatan, 3" deep, goes round the inside of the hem with the 2" wide lace on the edge, ¾" showing at the front widening to 2" at the back. A loop, 6" long, of thick ivory silk cord is sewn under the faille hem 6" to the right of centre back; this is to enable the wearer to lift the train off the ground when necessary. An identical cord loop has been added, roughly sewn on top of the centre back seam, 11½" up from the hem, maybe because the train needed more lift.

Contemporary illustrations

Detail from a fashion drawing in The Ladies' Treasury, April 1879
Fashion plate in Journal des Demoiselles, June 1879
Detail from a fashion plate Myra's Spring Panorama of Paris Patterns & Models, May 1879
Princess Beatrice by Carl Rudolph Sohn, 1883. Royal Collection