"That is a lovely gown. I haven’t seen one like it before, but I have seen the same green label on a dress at FIT in New York . There are also a number of labels with the same font in silver. I was able to date a cloak with that silver label to 1895. I think it definitely looks like a dress that should be shown to interested museums."
This elegant caramel-colored ball gown is from about 1896, and is embroidered with sunflowers, THE flower of the aesthetic movement. The label is partial, but you can clearly read the remains: "erty & Co. Historic Costume Studio, 222 Regent W." The bodice, large sleeves, and surrounding hemline and train are embellished with green beading in a floral design. The square neck has ecru lace at yoke. Bodice is pointed in front and back. The bodice is stayed, but the lining is shattered and most of it is missing. The skirt has a pale green silk lining with ruffle flounce in good condition. The skirt is fully gathered in back.
The velvet and beadwork in good condition. It could use a freshening up of the velvet or light cleaning. The long train is soiled on the very edges of hem.
Measurements: 39" bust, 31" bodice waist, 14" across shoulders, skirt waist, 29". The front length is 39" and back 51" including the long train.
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More history on Liberty & Co's Historic Costume Studio:
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a Liberty & Co. blouse in their collection, and online they state:
"In 1884, [Liberty & Co] opened a costume department, producing garments that were strongly influenced by Rational dress theories and Aesthetic movement sensibilities. Garments like this one that bear the label of the Liberty & Co. Artistic and Historic Costume Studio are quite rare."
There's a whole section on Liberty's "costumes", written by Judith Watt, in Stephen Calloway's "Liberty of London. Masters of Style and Decoration." A few excerpts:
"From its opening in 1884, Liberty's Costume Department maintained its sartorial identity, uninfluenced by the couturiers of Paris. Visitors to the department would select a style of costume, which was then run up in the workrooms in Liberty fabric. From 1894, catalogues for mail order were introduced, with sections for gowns, mantles and millinery, ranging from historically based costumes to the more conventional...
"E. W. Godwin, the architect and aesthete appointed by Liberty to run the department from its beginning, believed it was possible to adapt historical prototypes to current dress without making the end result either 'eccentric or bizarre'. The art fabrics were indeed sometimes difficult to work with, but a skilled in-house dressmaker could usually do any job quickly...
"By 1890, Liberty catalogues were featuring different historical styles adapted for the day. 'Athene' was a gown in 'Arabian cotton with silk Himation' for four and a half guineas; the waist is unconstricted by a corset. Other styles on offer were 'Greta', with artistic smocking and medieval embroidery, 'Marianne,' with flowing lines in cashmere and brocade for nine guineas or Venetian silk and velvet for eighteen guineas. 'Valeria' has a medieval flavour with embroidery at the neck, and, as recommended by the Rational Dress Society, the weight falls from the shoulders, not the waist."
1. Tea gown, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/the_costume_institute/dress_tea_gown_liberty_of_london/objectview.aspx?collID=8&OID=80096169
2. Woman's blouse, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:
http://72.5.117.145/collections/search_art.asp?recview=true&id=482317&coll_keywords=&coll_accession=&coll_name=&coll_artist=&coll_place=&coll_medium=&coll_culture=&coll_classification=&coll_credit=&coll_provenance=&coll_location=&coll_has_images=&coll_on_view=&coll_sort=0&coll_sort_order=0&coll_view=0&coll_package=39132&coll_start=1
3. Robe, V&A, London:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15544/robe/
4. Gown, V&A, London:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/59550-popup.html
5. Gown, sold by antiquedress.com:
http://www.antiquedress.com/item3793.htm
6. Blouse, sold by Christie's in 2006 for £528 ($980):
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4758969
7. Bodice, sold by Doyle, NY (est. $980-$1,200)- I think this is the one at Boston:
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/1879748
8. Gown, sold by Christie's in 2001 for £823 ($1,164):
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=3811121
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