Sabeth’s Object

19th Century Summer Dress

Owner: Paul Scott

University of Lincoln number: 20/198

Object Before Treatment

The object I worked on was a 19th century middle class dress. Its outer fabric is a cream cotton with blue silk stripes. It has a white cotton lining, cotton lace and glass tassels.

The dress was likely made between 1865 and 1875. The evidence is in the shape of the bodice and skirt. The simple cut of the bodice is typical for the time. It is made from only five pieces and has four triangular seams from the waist to the bust. These are called darts and are used to fit the dress to the wearer’s body. The high, round neck is very typical for this time.
The skirt shows the transition from a full, circular crinoline underskirt towards the bustle, which has the dress fall straight at the front while lifting and elongating the back. This in-between shape is called a crinolette. The front of the dress falls straight but the back of the dress still falls in the same round shape that a crinoline would have.

The fabrics used for this dress were a popular summer choice for the middle classes at the time. An airy open-weave, light coloured cotton which is durable and inexpensive, but made more luxurious with bright coloured silk stripes. This combination would have made the wearer stand out without costing as much or being as fragile as a full silk gown.

The decorative glass tassels, which are most probably original, indicate that the owner did not have to perform physical labour regularly as these would have been impractical.

The aim for this object was to restore it to an exhibitable condition and provide information about its possible origin and use to the owner.

To achieve this, research was done on 19th century fashion. Old adverts, fashion magazines and the textile departments of other museums confirmed my suspicion that it had been made after 1860 and before 1880.

The dress was then treated. Black lace that had been added to the chest later on was removed. This was done partially because it obscured the original look of the object, but also because it was extremely fragile. This lace was mounted onto netting to be displayed separately.

Holes in the bodice were filled with yellow fine weave silk fabric to make them less visible against the white cotton lining. The silk was strengthened by coating it in diluted adhesive, which kept it from fraying.

The bust darts on the chest were closed using hair-fine silk threads, which are not visible on the finished object.

The original lace remaining on the bodice was in poor condition and had come loose in several places. It was dampened to soften it and pinned in place to stretch it out again. After this, it was sewn into place using black polyester thread and covered with netting to protect it from future handling.

Object After Treatment

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