Bodice

Two-piece day dress of pale silver-grey silk, warp printed with a design of branches covered in leaves and flowers. These are in varying shades of light mauve and deep lilac, with fawn overprinting in grey, giving a greenish colour. The pleated frills which trim the edges of the open sleeves and the bodice are in sage green silk taffeta to match the inverted V shaped pleated inserts at the hem. Fawn braid trims both bodice and hem and the bow at the neckline is in pale greeny-grey silk ribbon. Engageantes of embroidered lawn or broderie anglaise would have been worn under the open sleeves. the bodice is lined with fine white silk. The arm hole is piped with 1/16 inch cord. The sleeves, as described in 'Le Follet' July 1860, are 'lined with white and bordered with a little white ruche'. This ruche is made of 1 1/8 inch wide pleated silk ribbon.

The dress is included in Janet Arnold's 'Patterns of Fashion: Englishwomen's dresses and their construction c. 1860-1940' (Macmillan 1966, pages 20-21).