Images(2)

Pelisse and Belt

Date1825-1830

MediumSilk, linen, cotton

DimensionsA: OL 59 ¾ in.; Bust 33 in.; Waist 25 ½ in. B: Length 28 ½ in.; Width 1 5/8 to 1 7/8 in.

Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2023-174,A&B

DescriptionA: Blue silk pelisse with full sleeves. Fastens with hooks and eyes up the center front. There are pleats on the bodice from the shoulders down center front and center back to the waist. Sleeves pleated at the top of the shoulder, narrowing slightly to cuff. Matching interlined trim is sewn down the center front opening and along the hem of the skirt. Rouleaux trim feather motifs are sewn on either side of the center front opening. Pelisse is lined with silk (facings), linen and cotton (skirt, bodice, and sleeves). The bodice lining is glazed. The sleeve lining is pieced. The bodice and skirt are interlined.

B: Blue silk belt with lighter blue silk lining. Fastens with three hooks and eyes.
Label TextThe pelisse, a coat-like type of women's outerwear, adapted throughout the early 19th century to accomodate the dresses it would be worn over. The full shoulders of this pelisse would have provided plenty of room for the steadily growing sleeves of the late 1820s, transitioning into the 'leg of mutton' sleeves of the 1830s.
InscribedA: There is a fabric tag sewn into the center back of the collar, "54.186.5.b"; this is the previous number assigned by the Valentine Museum. There is a fabric tag sewn in the upper right shoulder with handwritten text, "Pelle_"; this may be contemporary with the garment's construction.

B: There is a fabric tag sewn on one end, "54.186.5.b"; this is the previous number assigned by the Valentine Museum.
ProvenancePrior to 1954, Mrs. A. Carlton McKenney (Helen Avery Norris) (Richmond, VA); 1954 given to the Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2023-present given to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)