Day dress

The trimmed pagoda sleeves of this garment are typical of the period and would have been worn with engageantes; removable under sleeves of white or cream cotton or silk that could be taken off separately to be washed more frequently.

There are however clues on this garment that it may have been altered. The low waistline of the dress is more typical of the 1840’s and the pagoda sleeves appear to have been added later, probably replacing original narrow sleeves. The skirt is also not as typically full as we would expect after the invention of the crinoline cage.

The trimmings and sash were probably added along with the pagoda sleeves, a good example of the updating of an old dress in order to follow fashion.

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