38. 1862 Silk Dress

Crane family oral history tells us that this dress was purchased in Paris as part of a wedding trousseau by Annie Marie Day for her marriage to Sexton Crane in 1863. The dress came to Montgomery History from granddaughter Marian Wenzel in 1992 as a donation to the Textile Committee. At the time, the committee was actively collecting fashion objects which could illustrate the full history of nineteenth century textiles and tell the stories of those that wore the clothing.

The dress is made of a finely woven silk plaid and has two separate bodices. The first bodice, which we see in the attached images, is for daytime wear; it has long sleeves and a modest neckline, finished with a needle lace collar and embroidered batiste cuffs. The second is a separate bodice intended for evening wear with a wide off-the-shoulder neckline and short sleeves.

It was important to optimize the use of textiles and clothing at the time since fabric was very costly. The full, wide skirts required excessive amounts of yardage, so the utility of the dress was extended by creating a second bodice to wear with the same skirt. It may surprise people today that one bodice was removed, and the second bodice was attached by hand stitching for evening use. The straight waist seam of the mid-19^th century style made this an easy adjustment.

Annie Marie’s dress is an excellent example of how fortunes changed during the Civil War. Her marriage took place mid-way though the conflict, yet she still had the means to import a finely crafted silk dress from Paris. However, when we closely examine the dress, we can see evidence that it was heavily worn, with numerous repairs and patches. It also appears that she may have modified the dress to wear while pregnant. Note the extensions made to the waistline, gathers shifted to the front, and buttons were moved to the edge of the closure. The back seams on the bodice were also released, thereby creating more ease. Following her pregnancy, instead of remaking the skirt again, she doubled the fabric across her waist and moved the hooks to secure it.

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