Woman's Day Gown
PeriodCirca 1860 - 1868
Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSilk, silk fringe, glazed cotton
Dimensions45 in. (114.3 cm)
ClassificationsCostume, Women's
Credit LineGift of Adeline Yard Lawrence, 1932
Object number1976.17
DescriptionA woman's two-piece day gown of emerald green silk, consisting of fitted bodice, skirt, separate corselette belt, and sash with attached bow. The bodice is constructed with a high round neck, front button closure, sloped shoulders and dropped shoulder seams to fitted long sleeves, and princess points front and back. The entire bodice is lined with glazed white cotton and with cased bonings strips. The separate skirt is cut full, with cartridge pleats to a wide side-closure waistband fastening with large brass hook and eye closure, slight train, fully lined with glazed white cotton and an additional wear strip facing sewn to the skirt hem. Additional accessories include a matching corselette belt, with high points at front and eyelet laceup closure at front. The second accessory item is a removable sash with front hook and eye closure and attached flat bow with streamers. Light green silk fringe is applied to the bodice to form a "capelet" effect, as well as on both sleeve ends. Fringe is also applied to the bow and streamers of the sash accessory. Handwritten in ink on the inside of the removeable sash/bow is "E. Yard."Curatorial RemarksThe advent and development of chemically-based textile dyes beginning in the very late 18th and early 19th centuries opened a world of brightly-colored fashion. Emerald green was one particularly prized fabric color. The rich hue came at a cost, however, as the ingredients needed to produce such a vibrant tone included copper and arsenic. Close contact with poorly-dyed textiles could and did produce serious health issues, and many newspapers reported on deaths attributed with prolonged contact to textiles and even home furnishings such as wallpaper using such deadly components. By the last quarter of the 19th century, newer and somewhat safer dyes gradually replaced colors like emerald green.NotesThe exact owner and wearer of this striking emerald green silk gown has not yet been identified. The name "E. Yard" was handwritten in ink on the lining of the detachable sash and bow accessory, indicating that it most likely belonged to a member of the Yard family of Freehold. James Sterling Yard (1826-1900) was the owner and editor of the Monmouth Democrat newspaper. Yard's newspaper office was on Main Street in downtown Freehold. He and his wife had seven children, including daughters Emma, Mary, and Adeline. The gown most likely did not belong to any of the Yard girls, as the dress style places it between 1860 and 1868. It may have belonged to one of James Yard's sisters or nieces. The gown was most likely donated to the Association by Adeline Yard Lawrence (1868 - 1942), who donated a number of other Yard family items in the early 1930s.
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