Wedding dress, cream silk satin and lace with long sleeves and a train, c. 1905, detail of bodice back

c. 1905. Cream silk satin two-piece wedding dress with bodice closing in front, having full-length two-part sleeves of satin and ruched chiffon, wide lapels or revers, handmade lace and a bloused or pouched front, and with a floor-length pleat-trimmed gored skirt with a long train. The bloused or pouched silhouette of the bodice is created by a draped outer layer pleated over a structural lining. The lining is made of cream silk taffeta and has eight pieces: two center-front panels with two darts each and a center opening with eleven hooks, and a six-piece back with a center-back seam. All darts, seams, and openings are boned, for a total of thirteen bones, and a stiff bobbinet is pleated above the bust to the inside of the lining to add volume. A ruffle of silk organza is added to the exterior of the lining, sandwiched between it and the satin, to add further support to the pouched shape at the bust. The outer, draped layer is made of cream silk satin and has three pieces: two front panels and one back panel. Both front panels are pleated from the shoulder seams with folds falling diagonally toward the center of the waist to create a jacket-like effect. The right front panel is wider than the left and crosses over the center of the bodice to close with six hooks, tucking its far edge beneath the “jacket edge” made by the left panel’s folds. The area of the right panel over the center is covered by a handmade bobbin lace panel. At the waist, the diagonal pleats release fabric to create a bloused or pouched silhouette. The center-back panel covers the entire back and is fitted by a double-stacked box pleat at center, 13 cm / 5.125 in. wide at the top and narrowing to 5.1 cm / 2 in. at the waist. The waistline is naturally curved in back and comes to a slight point in front, and is finished with a narrow, pleated sash, which has a small knot of the fabric at the bodice point. The bodice neckline is curved in back and scooped low in front, and is filled in with a ruched cream silk chiffon edged with a trimmed silk ...