The figured silk dress, worn in Dundas, has the long, pointed bodice and dome-shaped skirt typical of the 1840s. Bodices were now boned down the centre front and in the side seams. Bones were sewn into the lining and pressed against the rib cage. Dresses of this period often fit a girl of today, around the shoulders and waist, but are too small around the ribs.
Open sleeves came in about 1844 and widened year by year. They were worn with white muslin undersleeves and sometimes a matching collar. This pair are of fine knitted cotton. The open neck has a bertha collar. It looks pleated but is made up of overlapping bias-cut folds of silk. The open neck and long sleeves are informal evening wear.
Shawls were the standard outdoor garment in the 1840s and 1850s. This Norwich shawl was sent, from Norfolk, to a branch of the family who had settled in Canada West.
The tartan taffeta dress of the early 1850s from Kingston has the jacket bodice which came in at the end of the 1840s. It hooks down the front; the buttons are purely decorative. The matching undersleeves are tacked in.
Skirts were made of straight lengths of fabric and were lined. Contemporary instructions tell us that the skirt lengths were first stitched together, then those for the lining. The skirt and lining were next stitched together around the hem and then gathered together around the waist. The gathering used was called "gauging" and is like pleating for smocking. The pleats were drawn tightly together and the folds stitched side by side as closely as possible, to the bodice or waistband. This was less bulky than ordinary gathering. Adjustments for an even hemline were made from the waist. The dress predates the invention of the crinoline so numerous petticoats were required to hold it out. Like many dresses of the 1850s and 1860s, this one has two bodices. The evening one has short sleeves and a wide neck with a bertha collar like the 1840s dress. Also, like most dresses of the earlier period, it has a back opening.
