From the research at Historical Society in Pennsylvania, I found information
related to my objects. Samuel K. Reeves was the donor of the ivory wedding
dress from 1845. It was hard to find out who wore the dress, but Reeves family
was one of the prestigious families having long history. In Thomas Reeves and his Descendants, Emma
M. Reeves describes six generations of Reeves family. Thomas Reeves first came
to America from Southampton, England in the “Beves” in 1638 as the servant of
Henry Byley of Salesbury.[i]
Thomas started his new life in America as a servant, but he became free in 1644
and married Hannah Rowe in next year. In Ancestral
Sketches, Le Roy Reeves describes history of her family in early nineteenth
century.[ii]
Since I could not find the exact wedding of 1845, I tried to analyze the same
time period of Reeves family and see their social and cultural background. There
are two brothers Peter Miller Reeves and William Miller Reeves married in 1831
and 1836 with two sisters of de Vault family. Le Roy describes those brothers’
works that “In 1838 the brothers purchased together for $5500 a tract of 400
acres of land. They made their home, each operating a part of the farm; that
part of the farm containing the buildings being known in later years as “Wheatland”.”
Her descriptions tell their prosperity and success in business. Their wives
also described as “They were model wives and mothers. Their homes were homes of
comfort and plenty. Both survived their husbands and were tenderly cared for by
their children in their declining years.” They were very religious women and
embodied ideal wives and mothers.
The dress from 1837 has specific trend at
that time. In the 1830s, trends of dresses were short bodice, tight skirt, and ‘ham-shaped’
sleeves. In “A History of Costume”, Carl Kohler described specific trend of
sleeves that “A characteristic feature at the beginning of the thirties was the
so-called ‘ham-shaped’ sleeves; there were long and enormously wide at the top,
narrower from the elbow down, and tight at the wrists.”[iii]
In “Gody’s Lady’s book” which was published in Philadelphia in 1830 also shows
the image of ‘ham-shaped’ sleeves. The descriptions of the image says that “the
corsage tight to the shapes; is trimmed with a fancy silk cord; the sleeves are
ornamented with the same, and the skirt and border are also trimmed with the
same.” [iv]The
dress of 1837 has exactly same short bodice and ‘ham-shaped’ sleeves. Since
this dress was worn by Appleton’s wedding which was one of famous family, we
can assume that the dress was the latest fashion in the 1830s. Although the
other dress was worn only after 8 years, there are differences of trends
between them. In the 1840s, trends of dresses changed dramatically. Sleeves
decreased, skirts increased, and their growing volume required artificial means
of extension.[v] Compared
to the dress of 1836, the dress of 1845 has short sleeves and huge fringed
skirt.
Relationships between dresses and owners
describes social and cultural situation in the nineteenth century America. Virtues
of women were important facts for women from prestigious families. And those
rich women could afford the latest trend dresses. Wedding dresses has a long
history, but white wedding dresses became popular in 1840 when Queen Victoria
first wore white wedding dress at her wedding. White became a coveted choice
for brides of higher social position, but it were not for purity but wealth.
However, for poor women white were not preferred choices. [vi]
It clearly expresses that the woman who wore the dress from 1845 was a part of
rich family. Her white (ivory), silk ringed dress was a symbol of their family
status.
In Fashion and Women’s attitudes in the
Nineteenth Century, Willet Cunnington discuss women’s situations that “The 19th
century woman, whose economic position was still largely dependent on her
powers of sex-attraction, made a virtue of necessity, and her hands modesty
became a fine art.”[vii] She
explains Sentimentalism and Exhibitionism as women’s approach to attract men. The
Sentimentalist attracted men with emotional tie. On the other hand the
Exhibitionist herself, body, and mind. Those two attitudes changes overtime and
balance together depends on social situation. For those women who owned the
dresses seems to tie with sentimentalism. Although they wore the latest trend
dress and express their high status, they had to wore corset and cover their
bodies with long skirt. Those dresses showed their good images of women who has
virtues and morals in good families.
[i] Emma M. Reeves, Thomas Reeves
and his Descendants, (New Jersey: Privately Mimeographed Salem).
[ii] Le Roy Reeves, Ancestral Sketches, (Virginia: J.P. Bell Company
Lynchburg, 1951).
[iii] Carl Kohler, A History of Costume, (New York: Dover Publications
Inc., 1963), 422.
[iv] Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine, 1840.
[v] Norah Waugh, The Cut of Women’s Clothes 1600-1930, (New York:
Theatre Arts Books, 1968).
[vi] Mead Rebecca, One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding,
(New York: Penguin Books, 2007), 79.
[vii] Willett C. Cunnington, Fashion and Women’s Attitudes in the
Nineteenth Century, (New York: Dover Publications Inc., 2003).
