Images(3)

Dress

Date1809-1817

OriginAsia, India; worn America, District of Columbia, Washington

MediumCotton, plain woven or tabby; cotton embroidery, wood & silk tassels; sewing threads

DimensionsOL: 63"; Waist at midriff, approx. 41" (adjustable)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Richard S. Aldrich

Object number2000-48

DescriptionWoman's dress of red cotton, styled with raised waist and short puff sleeves and embroidered with yellow-beige cotton floral and geometric bands. Squared neckline gathered over bust from narrow inset band at midriff. Front of skirt falls straight from inset band. Short sleeves, gathered over shoulders. Back opening, fastened with drawstrings at neckline and tasseled drawstring at raised waist. Back skirt gathered from inset band and falls into a train. The embroidery design consists of floral and geometric bands around neck, outlining sleeves, around hem, and down center front. Stitches include satin, outline, and French knots.
Label TextGown
Textile: India; construction, probably America, 1809-1817
Cotton, wood, and silk
Gift of Mrs. Richard S. Aldrich, 2000-48

A family document notes that Ann Cary Selden Breckinridge of Botetourt County, Virginia, wore this stylish gown at a Congressional Ball in Washington, D. C., where her husband served in the House of Representatives from 1809 to 1817. Multiple contemporary observations about Dolley Madison’s avant-garde attire confirm that Washington women of this period were keenly interested in the latest fashions. The cut and color of Ann Breckinridge’s gown suggest that she was no exception.

The brilliant red color of this garment’s imported, Indian-embroidered cotton signals a growing departure from the ubiquitous all-white neoclassic gowns in the early years of the 19th century. Here the yellow cotton embroidery, worked on flat panels before the gown was constructed, was planned especially for the intended shape of the garment. It centers at the front of the skirt and continues around the back to edge the hem. Narrower bands of needlework also trim the neckline and puffed sleeves.

ProvenanceWorn by Ann Cary Selden Breckinridge, wife of Col. James Breckinridge, who served in Congress as a representative from Botetourt County from 1809-1817. Label: Paper tag with dress reads, "A gown from East India, worn at a Congressional Ball in Washington (crossed out) D.C., by Mrs. Genl. Breckinridge (nee) Ann Cary Selden of 'Grove Hill,' Botetourt Co, Virginia." Written on the back of a card engraved "Miss Gamble". See object file for further genealogy notes by Jennifer Buffalo, Historic Kenmore, 1999.

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