{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1803053"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1803053/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1803053","accessionNumber":"T.108-2025","objectType":"Dress","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Afternoon or dinner-dress, cut without a waist seam in the 'Princess' style, of blue Jacquard-woven taffeta with a diaper pattern and plain satin. The bodice is cut from eight panels of the patterned taffeta, and is drawn into the waist at the centre-front with gathers and smocking stitches, extending into a polonaise style opening pulled away at each hip to reveal the plain blue satin skirt and forming a gathered bustle shape and train at the back. This loosely imitates eighteenth-century gowns and petticoats. The bodice is entirely mounted on a hip-length lining of striped cotton. It has a high collar of ruched blue satin, trimmed with lace. The sleeves are full length and made from the plain satin, with fullness controlled by bands of smocking creating a 'Tudorbethan' effect, wiith straight sections of the patterned taffeta on the inner sides. They are trimmed with a lace frill.  The bodice fastens with hooks at the front, with a hook to secure the draped overskirt to the under-skirt. There is a small watch pocket at the right hand side of the waist. The skirt is of the plain blue satin with bands of ruching. It is attached to the cotton lining at the centre-front, tying at the waist like an apron. The skirt has inner ties at the back, drawing the front closer to the legs and puffing out the bustle. The polonaise drapery is loosely stitched to the skirt at the back. ","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk taffeta","id":"x34754"},{"text":"silk satin","id":"x33509"}],"techniques":[{"text":"hand sewing","id":"AAT257459"},{"text":"machine sewing","id":"AAT257463"},{"text":"smocking","id":"x40311"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES404277"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"dress","id":"x47499"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca.1880","earliest":"1875-01-01","latest":"1884-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased with the support of the Elspeth Evans bequest","dimensions":[{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"33","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"19/09/2025","earliest":"2025-09-19","latest":"2025-09-19"},"part":"bust","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"24","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"19/09/2025","earliest":"2025-09-19","latest":"2025-09-19"},"part":"waist","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"54","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"shoulder to hem","note":"approximately"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"‘Princess line’ dresses, constructed as single garments (as opposed to the separate bodice and skirt, which were standard between 1850 and about 1875) were often worn from the later 1870s. The style was named after Alexandra, Princess of Wales, who popularised a tailor-made woollen version of this comparatively streamlined look, which fitted closely around the upper body and hips, emphasising a narrow, vertical silhouette, often with drapery drawn to the back and trimmed with bands of pleating, ruching and gathers. Usually front-fastening, the princess line dress could be a practical choice in plain wool, or the softly draping silks advocated by dress reformers and sold in Liberty and other shops associated with the Aesthetic movement. \r\n\r\nHistorical fashion provided inspiration for fashionable dress throughout much of the nineteenth century, contributing to a profusion of elaborate details and stylistic developments. These were facilitated by the increasing choice of textiles available and faster construction with the sewing machine, widely in use by 1880. Despite the historical references of this dress (the 'Tudorbethan' effect of the ruched sleeves and the polonaise styling) it was probably not made specifically for fancy dress. The difference between mainstream fashionable dress and a specific costume could be subtle but is illustrated by examples in the fashion plates such as one from the textile trade journal Dessins Nouveautes in the V&A collection (December 1880, V&A:29088:309). Of the adult styles shown, most are quite obviously for use at a fancy dress ball, while others depict fairly typical evening dresses in a broadly similar vein to this dress.\r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"'Princess line' dress of blue Jacquard-woven silk and satin with smocked and pleated decoration; probably Britain, c.1880.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.108-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"108","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-07-01","recordCreationDate":"2025-04-15","availableToBook":false}}