File:Ball Dress (Evening Dress) (48709695582).jpg

Ball dress, dismantled, circa 1840, heavy cream satin brocade with large pink floral sprays on satin-faced ground, separate bodice and sleeves, bodice pointed in front and boned, back fastening, wide neckline, shaped fitted bodice with heavy tucks and ruching on sleeves and bodice front, frill at elbows, covered buttons down front, additional long sleeves, full skirt with 7 straight panels, frilled and buttoned front panel, skirt has been removed from bodice and gathering undone, bodice intact except for part removal of elbow frills This dress illustrates the fashion of the 1840s with its preference for overall floral designs in delicate tints. It displays the dominant lines of the time: close fitting, with short half-sleeves edged with lace. This ball dress foreshadows a new style of the 1850s, that of the widening bell-sleeve. The lengthened and widened sleeve complemented the increasing width of flounced skirts of day and evening dresses.

Part of the History collection. 

Credit Line: Gift of Miss Diana Carrington-Evans, 1959, Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 1959.65, col.1596, 35636 

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