Clothes that document family history
Too Good to Leave Behind

Blue Plaid Silk Dress
1850
Gift of Carol Winship

This garment, with its matching reticule (or purse), is an excellent example of the hoop-skirted dress with its use of many yards of fabric to achieve the proper bell shape. Dresses like this one in good condition are relatively rare because this type of silk fabric becomes increasingly fragile as it ages. Thus, any sort of folding or rough handling will cause the silk to split.