Dress
PeriodCirca 195 - 1917
Place MadeU.S.A.
MediumSilk, muslin
Dimensions53 in. (134.6 cm)
ClassificationsCostume, Women's
Credit LineGift of Miss Anna M. Betz, 1968
Object number1999.511
DescriptionA woman's day dress in soft tan crisp silk, constructed with a hidden front closure of hooks and eyes set along an asymmetrical wide blue bib front collar edged with narrow black piping. The bodice is constructed kimono style, with sleeves and bodice cut as one without shoulder seams. The elbow-length sleeves are trimmed with light blue silk cuffs edged with black piping and with attached white net lace undersleeves. The front of the dress skirt is asymmetrically draped, with sets of large blue silk covered buttons with glossy black rims on the front and sides of the skirt. The dress also includes an eyelet net lace front yoke insert with an attached high collar, with celluloid support tabs sewn on the inside for support. The dress also has an attached lightweight muslin inner bodice with hook and eye closure.Curatorial RemarksThis attractive tan and blue day dress, with its touches of black piping and button trim, is a marvelous example of women's everyday wear in the second decade of the 20th century. The construction points to the garment's ready-made origin, rather than the product of an individual dressmaker. Dresses virtually identical in design to this one were available in department stores as well as through mail order catalogues such as Sears, Roebuck for a price of between six and eighteen dollars.NotesThis simple yet elegant day dress was owned and worn by Miss Anna M. Betz. Born on March 4, 1885 in Clinton, New Jersey, Betz was one of four children of Frederick and Kate Betz. Betz worked as a trained nurse in Newark before World War I. During the War, Anna Betz served in the Overseas Hospital Corps from July of 1918 to July of 1919. After she returned, she worked in the Social Service Bureau of Harlem Hospital, eventually serving as Director until her retirement in 1953. Betz never married and visited her parents often after they moved to Leonardo in Monmouth County, New Jersey, spending vacations and summer holidays there. She was a charter member of the Army of the Potomac Chapter, Monmouth County, of the Daughters of the Union 1861 - 1865 organization, serving as the Chapter's librarian and later as its regent. After her death in March of 1972, Betz left $18,000 to the Monmouth County Organization for Social Service (now the Visiting Nurse Association).
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