Dress

Dateca. 1840

MediumBeige ground cotton printed with flowers and leaves in brown, blue, green and cream.

DimensionsOL: 32"

Credit LineGift of Tasha Tudor.

Object number1997-154

DescriptionChild's dress of beige ground cotton printed with flowers and leaves in brown, blue, green and cream. V neckline with tucks radiating toward shoulders from boned center-front seam, where waistline dips slightly. Full sleeves with fullness taken in at the top of the arms. Lower sleeves are gathered to cuffs. Full skirt. Back closure. Note: Photographed with nineteenth-century pelerine collar and reproduction pantalettes or drawers.
Label TextDress styles of the early to mid-1830s had a very wide puffed sleeves, often supported by padded props sewn in place or worn around the upper arm. By the end of the 1830s, the sleeves' fullness was squeezed down from the top of the shoulder, as if the massive bulk of the fabric was deflating. Increasingly inexpensive roller-printed cottons such as this became a popular form of women's and girls' dresses.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of Tasha Tudor, West Brattlebora, VT