Mourning gown
Clothes for Women
2020.10.14.3ad.CW.DR.C1905.ES
Description
Mourning ensemble in black thick silk with embossed geometric pattern, consisting of a long sleeved black bodice with beige colour silk and lace neckline, A-line skirt in the same material, with beige silk triangle inserts on the bottom covered with black lace, black silk underskirt and a very long detachable train.Former wardrobe of Doña Anna Maria Loretta CABEDO (August 9, 1887 - April 11, 1964), owner of a lemon farm in Villarreal, a municipality in Spain near to Castelló de la Plana, located north of the city of Valencia.
Mourning rituals reached its peak in the 19th century as fashion became aligned with mourning and the resulting elaborate mourning codes became widespread in society. A number of factors contributed to this; first, high mortality rates were still prevalent during this period, the expansion of the middle class and finally the development of the retail sector and advances in technology meant that the use and production of black fabric became much more widespread than in the past.
Mourning was a universally understood signal with accepted gradations (‘first mourning’ ‘second mourning’ ‘ordinary mourning’ ‘half mourning’) that meant outsiders could observe the bereaved and see from the depths of the mourning being worn how recent the bereavement was, the relation of the deceased to the mourners and that they needed to be treated with gentleness and consideration.
By the 1890s there was the beginning of a gradual retreat from the mourning customs of decades past. Women began to wear the mourning veil over the face only during the funeral, and started to add a touch of light colour in their dresses much more earlier than before.
Materials
SilkLace