Day Dress With Large Crinoline In Changing Taffeta - France Circa 1855.

Circa 1855FranceBouffeur-style day dress with bodice and round crinoline skirt in shifting and scrunching taffeta dating from the early Second French Empire. Boned bodice with integrated pleated cape and wide basques with taffeta bows in the back. Sleeves with two pagoda ruffles decorated with two-tone frayed silk trimmings and grosgrain ribbons embroidered with blue zigzags with silk crests. The bodice closes in front with a lace modesty (not included in this sale) by three tabs attached in the visual style of an 18th-century stomacher. Round skirt with a large bottom decorated with three wide notched ruffles and an ecru tarlatan petticoat. Bodice lining in brown cotton. Superb stitching finishes including the inside of the sleeve ruffles in beige taffeta and embossed and pleated silk ribbons. Provenance Family (wife) of Jules Gérard, born in Pignan (1817-1864). Excellent condition of color and preservation. Dimensions: Equivalent size 34/36 France. Front height 122 cm Back height 134 cm Shoulders 37 cm Collar 16 cm Sleeves 45 cm Chest 82 cm Waist 57 cm Skirt circumference 382 cm