1870s cotton pique dress

I have been a volunteer at the Lackawanna Historical Society for almost 25 years, and have been very fortunate to be able to work with their extensive historic clothing collection which includes over 1000 items of apparel from 1810 to 1980. Today I put on display a pretty cotton dress that dates to about 1870. Unfortunately, we do not know who the original owner was, although we believe it has some connection to The Home for the Friendless in Scranton.

The dress (2016.09.01) was made in three pieces: bodice, skirt, and overskirt, all in the same white cotton pique fabric that has a vertical blue design. All pieces are unlined. The bodice closes center front with crochet-covered ball buttons. White cotton fringe runs vertically along the bodice. The side seams and front darts are boned. The skirt closes side left front; the front skirt panels are gored, and the back panel is cartridge pleated to the plain cotton waistband. There is a plain cotton pocket in the right side seam. The hem is scalloped and finished with white wool brush braid. This treatment is also used on the cuffs of the bodice sleeves. The overskirt is also gored, and cartridge pleated at the back. It closes center back. It is trimmed with the same fringe used on the bodice.

The lady who wore the dress would have been about 5'3" tall. The waist size is 22.5". It looks smaller than that because of the wide shoulder-styling above. 

This is an excellent example of the transition from the wide-hooped styles of the early-middle 1860s to the narrower skirts of the late 1860s and early 1870s that featured drapings that foreshadowed the bustle period. It is displayed over a cage crinoline about 90" in circumference (one petticoat over the cage).

Here are three views of the dress taken in one of the former bedrooms in the Catlin House.