#6612 $1,100
Velvet day dress with provenance, c.1900
This high quality velvet day dress was originally worn by Bertha Valentine, who lived in New York City from 1890-1910. Here is a fine vintage dress that is a stylish artifact of our cultural heritage. Bertha's great, great niece told me that Bertha was deeply involved in the cultural and social life of New York.
She loved to go to Delmonico's Restaurant, the place to be seen in the city at the time. (When I was working on Seventh Avenue in the 1980s, I occasionally met my husband after work at Delmonico's.) Bertha was also an avid opera goer. I wonder if she frequented the established Academy of Music or the new Metropolitan Opera (founded in 1880), where she might have seen Enrico Caruso's debut on November 23, 1903.
The quality of the two-piece, velvet day ensemble indicates Mrs. Valentine had the income needed for her lifestyle. The elegant hourglass shape, dark rich velvet, and lace trim all create an impression of tasteful refinement. See the lace tea dress that also belonged to Mrs. Valentine.
The unlined skirt, smooth over the hips, forms a graceful train in back, where it closes with hooks. The bodice is lined with brown twill cotton and is boned for support. The beige chemical lace on the bodice front, collar, and under sleeves is backed with ivory satin.
The collar and decorative bands are black taffeta. They appear gray because the pictures were lightened for visibility. The collar and sleeves have bands of decorative black braid trim. I love the dainty black lace ruffles on the sleeves. The overlapping layers of the bodice close in front with hooks.
The condition is almost excellent. There are two barely visible mends on the back of the skirt near the waist. They do not spoil the appearance.
The skirt measures: 24 1/2" waist, 40" hip (extra fabric in the back pleats that form
the train), and 37" center-front length.
The bodice measures: 34" bust, 24 1/2" waist, 14 3/4" from shoulder seam to shoulder
seam, 21" sleeve length, 14" collar circumference at the neckline, and 15 1/2" center-back
length.
