Object Details
- Description
- A child’s (a) green gingham dress and (b) pink pinafore. The cotton blend dress features a white and green gingham pattern with hand painted acrylic pink roses. The roses are arranged around the fabric in groups of one to four and are surrounded by piled synthetic fibers piled together, creating tiny 3-dimensional dots. The dress features a 1.5” band collar, made from one panel of fabric that is trimmed with white machine-made tatted lace. There is a front yoke, also made from one panel of fabric that is seamed to the back yoke at the sides. The puff sleeves are one piece of fabric, that have been seamed at the inner arm. They have been gathered at the shoulder and at the 1.125” cuff. The cuff is trimmed with white machine-made tatted lace that has been attached by hand. The skirt is hand gathered at the top and machine stitched to the yoke and to the back skirt panel at the sides. The hem is finished with a fold that has been machine stitch, The back yoke is made from two panels of cotton blend gingham fabric that is bisected by a 10” Falcon brand metal zipper with plastic teeth. The back of the skirt is a single panel of gingham fabric that has been hand gathered and machine sewn to the back yoke. The hem is machine stitched to prevent unravelling and then handstitched to the interior of the skirt. White machine tatting is handstitched to the hem of the skirt. The interior yoke is self-faced. There is a white fabric label at the interior left bust that reads [BETTYE DOWNS / ORIGINAL] in black text.
- The front of the pink pinafore (b) features a yoke with a square neckline, made from a single panel of pink cotton blend fabric. There is green decorative zig zag embroidery on the bottom of the yoke and white machine tatting is handstitched to the edge of the yoke. The pinafore skirt is hand gathered to itself and machine stitched to the yoke. There is also decorative green embroidery toward the bottom hem, which is also trimmed with white machine-made tatting. The hem is machine-stitched to prevent unraveling and then hand stitched to the interior of the pinafore. The back of the pinafore has a yoke composed of two panels that is bisected by a 6.5" metal zipper with metal teeth. The skirt is also two panels of pink cotton blend fabric that have been seamed together down the center back. The skirt design mirrors the front with the placement of the decorative green embroidery and the machine-made white tatting. Four 10" ties (two on the left and two on the right side) made from pink cotton blend fabric are machine stitched near the arm hole area. The interior yoke is self-faced and has a woven white tag machine stitched to the proper back right reads [LOT / SIZE 5] in black text. The interior of the dress is unlined.
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Created by
- Bettye Downs, American
- Subject of
- Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
- Date
- 1960-1970
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
- Medium
- (a) cotton blend, acrylic paint, lace, metal, plastic, and synthetic fiber
- (b) cotton and metal
- Dimensions
- (a) Length (Shoulder to hem) : 23 3/4 in. (60.3 cm)
- Width (Shoulder to shoulder): 11 in. (27.9 cm)
- (b) Length (Shoulder to hem): 21 1/2 in (54.6 cm)
- Width (Shoulder to shoulder): 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
- Type
- dresses
- pinafores
