Background
In keeping with the design tradition of using the tea gown form as a vehicle for poetic imagery, this gown, designed for Mrs. Seth Low Pierrepont, is a picturesque medieval-style interpretation. The soft, organically derived tone of its velvet dramatically contrasts with the opulence of its gold lace. The very intricate padded, foliate-embroidery of its panels closely parallels the embroidery that was emblematic of Liberty of London, a leader in the design of clothing and artifacts of the Aesthetic movement.
Description
Dress: Princess line, floor-length; lace yoke, lace band collar; lace gigot sleeves, cuff ruffles, cord loop-and-button trim from elbow to wrist closure, cord tassels, cream chiffon undersleeve; skirt flat in front, full in back; bust-length gold lace tabard, silk tassels at sides.
Vest: Below-knee length; open center front, closed at sides to waist, extending into four open square-end panels; collarless; extended shoulders; passementerie at all edges.
Garment structure
This medieval-style tea gown comprises a full-length dress with a lace yoke, banded stand collar and sleeves, a gold lace tabard, and passementerie –embellished tabard vest. The dress has an empire waist with full-length princess seaming. Machine-made Alençon-style lace is used on the yoke and collar. Metal stays are inserted into a narrow casing on each side of center front to prevent the collar from collapsing,
Constructed of lace-over-chiffon, the gigot sleeves fasten at the wrist with cord-covered buttons and loops. The chiffon undersleeve is shorter than the lace outer layer, causing the shoulders to puff out without collapsing. Decorative gold corded balls and loops embellish the sleeves from the elbow to the wrist. The sleeves are trimmed with lace frills at the wrist and armhole.
Worn by donor.
Gift of Mrs. Seth Low Pierrepont, 1956.