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Dress
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History & Notes: This exquisite gown belonged to Belle O'Hagan Dewey. Belle was born in Ireland in 1855 and immigrated to the United States in 1865 when she settled for a time in San Francisco. Here she met widower Colonel William H. Dewey, Idaho pioneer, prospector, and entrepreneur. The two married in 1875. Colonel Dewey and Belle worked to open the luxurious Dewey Palace Hotel in Nampa Idaho that hosted presidents, politicians, and vacationers visiting the Treasure Valley. After Colonel Dewey's passing in 1903, Belle and her children took over management of her husband's many business interests. In the years before her death in 1918, Belle commissioned a portrait of herself and was portrayed wearing this lovely gown. The portrait was completed in 1917 and is held by the Canyon County Historical Society. In 1992, Belle's grandson, Robert Davis, donated this gown to the Idaho State Historical Society.
Description: Floor length dress of floral patterned lavender silk taffeta, lavender net, and white lace. Silk taffeta features pink roses in an ikat blur. High lace neckline and yoke is overlapped by a panel of lace and net crossing under a panel of taffeta in a V. Long sleeves terminate in lace cuffs. Taffeta skirt with geometric train is overlayed with asymmetric panels of net, one edged in lace. The panel not trimmed in lace is finished with a floral appliqu of ombre purple-white beads and metallic thread. Taffeta sash across waistband covers back hook and eye closure. Internal bodice construction features lining of white silk netting and sewn in underarm protectors.
Object Number: 1992.053.0003
Object: dress
Category: Women's Garments
Circa: 1900
Materials: lace, silk, metal
Donor: DAVIS, ROBERT A.
Description: Floor length dress of floral patterned lavender silk taffeta, lavender net, and white lace. Silk taffeta features pink roses in an ikat blur. High lace neckline and yoke is overlapped by a panel of lace and net crossing under a panel of taffeta in a V. Long sleeves terminate in lace cuffs. Taffeta skirt with geometric train is overlayed with asymmetric panels of net, one edged in lace. The panel not trimmed in lace is finished with a floral appliqu of ombre purple-white beads and metallic thread. Taffeta sash across waistband covers back hook and eye closure. Internal bodice construction features lining of white silk netting and sewn in underarm protectors.
Object Number: 1992.053.0003
Object: dress
Category: Women's Garments
Circa: 1900
Materials: lace, silk, metal
Donor: DAVIS, ROBERT A.
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