#2327 $1,400
Embroidered tulle/Irish crochet tea dress, c.1915
The tea dress, the mainstay of the Edwardian lady's wardrobe, remained popular through the 1920s. This one from the WWI period is less formal than its boned and corseted Belle Époque predecessors. The dress would be perfect for an informal wedding.
The dress is fashioned from white cotton tulle decorated with bands of machine embroidery and handmade Irish crochet medallions. Although the dress is constructed with several layers of tulle, it is sheer and will need a slip.
I love the shape of the layered skirt, whose top layer is weighted at the hems of the embroidered panels to ensure that it will hang properly. The dress closes in front and on the side with hooks and snaps. The layers of the skirt and bodice are attached to a petersham at the waist.
The handmade medallions on the bodice, taken from nature, (3rd picture down) lend to the pastoral design an endearing charm. The designer has taken to heart a saying of Lysippus (350 BCE), the finest sculptor of antiquity, who said that “an artist should imitate, not the work of other artists, but nature itself.”
The condition is excellent. It is clean and ready to wear.
It measures: 38" bust; 28" waist; 42" hip; 15 1/2" from the shoulder to the waist; 23" sleeve length, including the cuff; 7" wrist circumference; and 51" from the shoulder to the hem.
