Dress, Wedding
Object number1987.021.05ab
Date1918
MediumPeplum
DimensionsBlouse: 24" x 25" Skirt: 43" x 80"
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
Terms
b - White dotted swiss skirt with five lace inserts and lace ruffles at hem - drawstring waist.
Reported to have been worn as a wedding dress in 1918 in the Ozarks, this two-piece dotted swiss dress is in a remarkable state of preservation. The material, dotted swiss, is a sheer fabric ornamented with small dots at regular intervals. Traditionally, the dots were woven into the fabric by swivel weaving. More recently, they have been applied to the surface with an adhesive treatment much like flocking. This dress contains the woven dots. The material was first produced in Switzerland and imported; hence its name. It has been widely produced in the United States in this century. It has always been a popular fabric for summer dresses, blouses, and curtains. It has also been called dotted muslin or clip spot lawn.
The dress's style - sleeves, shaping and silhouette is more characteristic of turn-of-the-century than 1920. Yet this would be consistent with the tendency of traditions to remain in place and honored in the isolated areas in the Ozarks early in this century.
Status
Not on view
U nknown Date
Unknown Date
Unknown Date
Unknown Date
ca 1920