A Dress from Paris

One of the exhibits that caught my attention at the Wellesley Historical Society was this elegant green and blue striped dress, a reminder that fashion can tell us as much about history as letters, photographs, or documents.

Created by the House of Doeuillet in Paris between 1905 and 1906, the dress was worn by a member of Wellesley’s prominent Hunnewell family. Actually, it appears to be an elaborate gown reserved for special occasions. It was considered a less formal daytime dress, worn for luncheons, informal dinners, and overseeing the daily affairs of a large household.

The amount of luxurious velvet in the dress suggests it was intended for the winter season. According to the museum, Mrs. Hunnewell likely purchased the fabric during a shopping trip to Paris, where she would have selected the material and had the dress custom-made by one of the city’s leading fashion houses. At the beginning of the twentieth century, wealthy American families often traveled to Paris, then recognized as the fashion capital of the world, to purchase the latest styles.

The House of Doeuillet was one of the respected Parisian couture houses of the era, known for elegant designs that reflected the transition from the highly structured fashions of the Victorian period to the lighter, more graceful silhouettes of the Edwardian age. Dresses like this were not simply clothing.  They were expressions of craftsmanship, social status, and the international influence of French fashion.