Evening dress, 1911-1913; CHM 1975.95.28, pattern available at link For the most part, I stuck to objects of definite provenance while working on the digitization project, but I had to make an exception for this one. The bright fuschia of the silk twill really stands out, and it's in spectacular condition. As you can see … Continue reading Evening Dress, 1911-1913
Category: pattern
Isabelle Sloan Rohlfs, 1916
Isabelle Sloan Rohlfs on her wedding day, 1916, 1984.24.3; gown is 1984.24.1 (pattern at link) This wedding dress is a great example of its period in several ways. The layered closures, snapping to cover each other, all covered with a tunic layer that fastens on the side and at the shoulder; the loose bodice and … Continue reading Isabelle Sloan Rohlfs, 1916
Mrs. Joseph Mead's Slippers, 1856
Wedding slippers, 1966.21.3a-b (pattern available at link) Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Joseph Mead's unnamed wife. And her wedding gown either no longer survives or is being held somewhere else. The attribution might not even be correct - it's based on a handwritten note placed inside one shoe (the handwriting does look to be Victorian, … Continue reading Mrs. Joseph Mead's Slippers, 1856
Isabel Elsey's Wedding Dress, 1934
Wedding Dress, 1973.11.1 (pattern available at link) This dress. Oh, this dress. Bias cuts are tricky to pattern, because patterning requires following the grain and measuring the rise and run to get the slope of a diagonal or curve, usually using the center front or back when they're cut on the straight. Satin also makes it … Continue reading Isabel Elsey's Wedding Dress, 1934
Mary DeLong West's Wedding Dress, 1896
1976.139.2, pattern available on site As it says at the site, this was "worn by Mary DeLong in 1896 when she married Charles F. West." And you can see it on Mary as well - in the photograph, there's some beaded trim running around the middle of the collar and on the edges of the … Continue reading Mary DeLong West's Wedding Dress, 1896
Mimic of Modes 