{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1505324"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1505324/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1505324","accessionNumber":"T.225-2019","objectType":"Dress","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"According to family tradition, Lucy Dowden wore this printed cotton dress for her marriage to John Walker (1796-1864) at St Luke’s church in Oakley Street, Chelsea. At this date the fashion for wearing white wedding dresses was only gradually taking hold at different levels of society, following the lead of royal and aristocratic brides. The occupations of Lucy’s father and husband are not currently known, but they were probably craftsmen and/or shopkeepers or similar as her daughter Mary married a Daniel Smith, a boot and shoe maker. Further research will hopefully establish a more precise social context. Regardless, Lucy Dowden’s dress was an economic and fashionable choice, being a style that she could wear as a best day dress following her marriage.\r\n\r\nThe long sleeves and high neckline identify this dress as day wear. The dress has been carefully cut to make use of the vertical pattern of the fabric, with labour-intensive hand-stitched piping used to define the shoulder seams and long narrow lower sleeves. The van-dyked hem was a common feature at this point when dressmakers had moved away from the Classical ideal of the first two decades of the nineteenth century and found inspiration in the romance of ‘Tudorbethan’ decoration.\r\n\r\nFashion in the middle of the 1820s saw a continued transition towards the voluminous sleeves and skirts which were to dominate fashion in the middle of the nineteenth century. Competition in the flourishing market for printed dress materials encouraged developments in dye and printing technology and design in Britain and mainland Europe.  The design of this printed cotton is typical of the mid-1820s, using a vertical format which imitated prints produced using copper rollers It is similar to some found in a dated pattern book at Bolton Record Office, which shows roughly comparable designs imitating the linear patterns achieved through the roller printing method. \r\n","physicalDescription":"A day dress of cotton lawn, block-printed with a pattern of willow sprays on a meandering stripe of pale purple, and stylised flowers, in red, blue, yellow and green, on white.  The dress is trimmed at the shoulders, sleeves and hem with bands of plain white piping, and the hem of the skirt is decorated with two applied flounces with ‘van dycked’ zig zag lower edges.  The bodice and skirt are joined at the back, fastening at the waist with a drawstring, with a front fall opening and centre front opening bodice; the bodice is lined with plain white cotton.","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton (textile)","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Printed cotton, using madder and other probably plant-based dyes.","categories":[{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"005","id":"THES307364"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"dress","id":"x47499"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[],"productionDates":[],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Phyllis Babb","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"66","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"29/07/19","earliest":"2019-07-29","latest":"2019-07-29"},"part":"waist seam (below bust)","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"28","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"29/07/19","earliest":"2019-07-29","latest":"2019-07-29"},"part":"back shoulder seam to waist seam","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"102","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"29/07/19","earliest":"2019-07-29","latest":"2019-07-29"},"part":"length of side seam, waist to hem","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"A day dress of cotton lawn, block-printed with a meandering stripe and willow sprays, probably worn as a wedding dress by Lucy Dowden, British, 1826","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.225-2019"],"accessionNumberNum":"225","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2019,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-17","recordCreationDate":"2019-07-29","availableToBook":true}}