bodice

Summary

Bodice for formal domestic wear, of white linen, with large, full sleeves, embroidered over the whole ground with silver thread chain stitch and metal spangles forming a formal scroll design. Low round neck, not fastening at loose front; front sections extending to side beck, joining narrow shaped back section; gore at each side and gore centre back at hips; large full sleeves (22 inches long) gathered into shoulder except at underarm; turnback , linen-lined cuffs, open at wrists; narrow wing at shoulders. From the collection of Iris, Lady Lawrence, formerly collection of Sir William Lawrence.

Display Label

Clothes from the seventeenth century are now extremely rare survivals, especially whole garments like man's doublets and shirts, or women's bodices or stays. The Gallery has a comprehensive selection of such pieces, as well as accessories like gloves, fans, purses and shoes, many of which belonged to a single family, the Filmers of Kent. Clothing of this date is often made much more interesting by the sophisticated and imaginative embroidery which decorates it, as in all the examples shown. The main image shows a woman's informal, but highly fashionable, jacket entirely covered in coloured silk embroidery showing symmetrical scrolling foliage holding polychrome bunches of grapes. Even the linen shirt in the last image, dating from the 1630s and the earliest man's shirt in the collections, has fine whitework embroidery at the neck as well as a scalloped needle lace falling collar.