c1875 Mary Ann Harper

This bronze silk taffeta bustle gown trimmed with black velvet and black lace.  

The bodice, is accentuated with black velvet ribbon in large scallops and black braid.  Bands of black velvet trim each sleeve cuff that also has a with a button. Bands of black velvet also feature on the apron and the skirt.

The bustle skirt is flat at the front and sides with the majority of the fabric being at the back, that is supported by a padded undergarment or wire frame.  This bustle allows for fullness as well as supporting any drapery at the back of the skirt.

Mary Anne’s bustle skirt consists of two parts: the three-tiered skirt and an over-skirt in an apron style.  Both are timed in the same black velvet as the bodice.  The “apron" also has black lace.  

 

 

Mary Anne was born in Mudgee. She married Charles Harper, an engineer, and they had seven daughters.  Mary Anne dies in 1906 in her 70s.