Black Silk Bodice with Smocking

VC2001077

Black Silk Bodice with Smocking

black silk bodice with smocking; Black silk satin, metal zipper, decorative covered wooden buttons, black synthetic, cream grosgrain ribbon

Silhouette: bodice.

Band collar with three columns of smocking, smocking below collar across shoulders; full length leg-of-mutton sleeves, three lines of smocking down the sleeve, with ruching in between, ruffle around cuff; front and back pleating; zipper down full length of back; synthetic fabric added to bottom of bodice; backs of sleeves, from elbow to wrist, are done in a different black fabric on both sides; gross-grain ribbon on inside, but it was at some point moved up from its original position.

Liberty & Co.

1893-1897

Clothing and dress

36 inches (chest), 28 inches (waist), 20.5 inches (center front length), 17 inches (center back length),

metal

silk

synthetic fiber

wood

Physical Object

1890s

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

© Vassar College Costume Collection. Images in this collection may be used for teaching, classroom presentation, and research purposes only. For other reuse, reproduction and publication of these images, contact costumeshop@vassar.edu.

VC2001077

Anne Silk, Emily Leimkuhler, Candace 3.1.2010

black

36

28

20.5

17

36 inches (chest), 28 inches (waist), 20.5 inches (center front length), 17 inches (center back length),

Liberty and co. ______ and historic costume studio - 218 regent street??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_&_Co.

1893

1897

costume

clothing

Tops

very good

lining is delicate but intact; abrasions on sleeves

M4

Vassar College Costume Collection, Drama Department, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604

One clue to this bodice's history is its extensive use of smocking. This was a technique originally used in provincial dress. As industrialization and overcrowding began to take over Europe, and the fast paced modern urban life began to take its toll on city dwellers, many found themselves longing for the innocence they perceived in the life of the country peasant. By introducing the technique of smocking into urban fashions, women sought to bring the alleged innocence of rural communities into their modern lives. 
This bodice was made by Liberty and Co. in London, one of the companies that pioneered the Aesthetic Dress Movement in England. This movement had its roots in the artistic dress the Pre-Raphaelite painters used for their models. Aesthetic Dress garments were intended to be less constricting, perhaps even worn without corsets. Indeed, this bodice's cream cotton lining has no boning or support sewn inside. 
Researched by Anne Silk ‘13 and Emily Leimkuhler ‘10

bodice