Dress

A striped eighteenth-century silk gives this dress a vibrant quality. Women's clothes were often made from earlier fabrics, particularly when the colours, pattern and texture suited the fashions of the day. Eighteenth century taffetas were popular during the 1820s and 1830s as these crisp silks helped the skirts stand away from the body in graceful folds and the sleeves billow into elegant puffs. The delicate floral designs, woven stripes and soft colours also complemented contemporary lines in dress.

This evening gown is made from silk tobine dating from the 1770s. Silk tobines were taffetas patterned by being woven with an extra warp floating on the surface that was bound at intervals with silk weft threads. The warp here is in shades of red and the pattern it creates helps break up the uniformity of the stripes. This fabric was probably selected because, from a distance, the yellow, pink and red stripes resemble the 'rainbow style' prints introduced in the 1820s. 'Rainbow style' was a method of block-printing invented by the paper-stainer Spoerlin of Vienna. It was the first block-printed style adapted for roller-printing, as after the colours were applied to the cloth they were merged at the edges using a brush or roller. The result was a soft blending of colours evoking the effects of a rainbow.