A 1950s Floral Dress With No Side Seams, Box Pleats and a Silk Satin Belt

This purple and blue floral print dress has a skirt with no side seams. It comes with a purple belt and is dated to the 1950s, maker unidentified. It is in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which records it under object number 2007.3.901ab.

The dress

The bodice has a wide round neckline and short sleeves cut from the same panel as the bodice, each with a gusset sewn in. A center front seam runs down the front, with a vertical dart on each side of it that ends at the waist seam, and a diagonal bust dart is sewn to the top of each vertical dart. Four box pleats are sewn below the waist seam on the front, and four more on the back, where the neckline is lower. A metal zipper runs along the center back seam, with a four-inch loop of purple silk satin sewn to the proper right side of the opening. The neckline, sleeves and center back opening are all self-faced, and the selvage ends of the fabric show on the center front and center back seams.

Inside, the other seams are pinked, and the dress is lined in white linen below the waist seam. The single-fold hem is finished with blue synthetic ribbon, and the same ribbon is sewn at the interior of the waist seam.

The belt

The belt is one panel of purple silk satin, folded in half lengthwise and sewn at one end, with the ends of its width cut at an angle.

Details

Sources

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Purple and blue floral print dress with purple belt, object record released under CC0 through Smithsonian Open Access; rewritten in hubnx's own words.