Black bodice with lace collar and jet beading

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black bodice with a lace collar and jet beading. The bodice is made of black silk faille and has a two-inch ruched band collar with silk bobbin lace hand sewn to the top. The bodice has two openings, the first on the proper left side which starts at the collar. The collar fastens with two metal hooks and two thread eyes, another metal hook and thread eye fasten along the shoulder seam. Seven metal hooks and one metal eye are sewn to the proper right side of the first opening, these align with seven thread eyes on the proper left side, the top and bottom eyes are broken. The second opening is along the center front and closes with nineteen metal hooks on the proper right side which aligns with nineteen metal eyes on the proper left side.

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