1896 Grey alpaca dress
| ||||||||||||||||||
1896-1899 A dress in grey blue alpaca.
-
The back of the dress mounted
-
Detail showing the bow at the front waist
-
Detail of the lace on the front panel
-
Detail of inside the right front showing the printed lining, the hooks down the centre edge and the hooks on the left edge of the centre panel
Description
The bodice and skirt are separate.
The fabric has a dark blue cotton warp and a white alpaca weft, which gives a shot greyish appearance.
The bodice and sleeves are lined with fawn cotton satin which has a printed pattern of cream stars; the skirt is lined with blue glazed cotton. There are bones on the darts and most seams of the bodice, and the inside waistband is a chevron pattern tape, 1¼" wide, with one hook and eye.
Four pleats on each shoulder in the side front panels narrow to ¾" at the waist, held by a row of stitching 1¼" up from waist; these are over a fitted bodice in the alpaca with a centre front opening, which is fastened down the centre with 13 hooks, and 12 worked eyelets and a bar at the waist.
The centre front panel over the top is of pale grey silk ottoman under ivory chemical lace; the left-hand edge is fastened with two hooks at the top with worked bars on the fitted bodice under the pleats of the side front panel, and three hooks spaced down the edge, with worked bars under the pleats.
A bias strip, about 1⅞" wide with a fold along the middle, goes round the lower edge of the bodice, mitred to form points at the centre front and back; there are two hooks and worked bars at the opening to the left of centre, under a self bow.
The stiffened stand collar, 1¼" high rising to 2" at back, is covered in the silk ottoman under chemical lace. A bias cut piece of the alpaca forms a frill round the top, and its top edge is softly folded; it is 1¼ " deep at the front rising to 1¾" at back.
Two layers of stiffened frills cover the tops of the sleeves, with ivory loopy gimp braid round the edges. The stiffened cuffs are 2" wide, and covered with the ottoman and lace.
The skirt has a 1¼" wide chevron pattern tape waistband, with an opening to one side of a 4" wide section of cartridge pleating at the centre back, and a pleat each side of that.
There is a some damage by moths, which is quite bad round the elbow on the left sleeve, and a little elsewhere.
Contemporary illustrations
-
Amy, Mary, William and Margaret Menzies, in Cupar, Fife, c.1897
-
Fashion drawing in The Housewife, February 1897
-
Fashion drawing in The Housewife, May 1897
