Silver Oval Reading Spectacles worn with

Cream Embroidered Evening Dress
Unknown creator and place of origin, ca. 1840s-50s.
Cotton plain weave dress and piping with cotton embroidery thread.
Human Ecology’s Clothing and Textiles Collection.
University of Alberta School of Household Economics (1971.7.6).

Black Satin Slipper Shoes
Unknown creator, Canada, ca. 1820s-2830s.
Silk and leather.
Human Ecology’s Clothing and Textiles Collection.
Donated by Jim Whittome (2001.6.8.ab).

Silver Oval Reading Spectacles 
Theodore Hamblin Ltd., London, Wisconsin, United States of America, ca. 1880s-1900.
Metal frame, glass lenses, and leather case.
Human Ecology’s Clothing and Textiles Collection.
Donated by Bill Carmichael (2013.6.16a).

Mount and paper hair by Naomi Milne

This fitted evening dress is characteristic of the 1840s with its sloping shoulders, pointed waist and voluminous skirt. The three flounces on the skirt are edged with hand sewn embroidered chain stitches. In order to create the repetitive floral pattern, paper may have been placed under the sheer fabric and the motif drawn onto the skirt before stitching.

Photographs by Anne Bissonnette©

Cite this page (bibliography):
Bissonnette, Anne, Cybil Cameron, Katelin Karbonik, Naomi Milne, Danielle Peel, and Donnalee Riley. “1971.7.6,” Eyewear: Fashion with Vision, Clothing and Textiles Collection Web site, Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, November 23, 2016. [INSERT URL].