Summary

Full gored black skirt with slight train. Belonged to Minnie Anderson of Kew. The appearance of the skirt suggests a date of the late 19th century. The style would have been worn into the early 20th century.

Mary 'Minnie' Lloyd Anderson was one of five children of renowned architect Lloyd Tayler (1830-1900) and Sarah Toller. She married James Caldwell Anderson; they had a son and three daughters. The family lived at 'Mynda', 5 Molesworth Street, Kew, designed by Lloyd Tayler. She died in 1951, aged 91.

Physical Description

Black silk skirt with 8-gores and 4 deep tucks at back forming slight train and fullness. Beading paillettes are attached along seam lines, one complete, another half length. From stitching remnants it appears another four strips have been removed. A black silk slashed pocket is concealed within center back gore. Decorative 3cm belt is tacked around the waist with pointed ends meeting at the centre front with a 1cm gap. Left hand side of belt sits over fastening and at pointed end is a metal hook with corresponding eye missing (torn away) from skirt. The skirt fastenes with a 250mm placket with 6 metal hooks and thread chain loops at left front seamline. The skirt has an internal corded waistband closing with 2 metal hooks and corresponding eyes, one on placket, one on skirt. Hemline has a facing of silk moire taffeta attached to skirt fabric with a blind stitch. The facing varies from 370mm at widest and 100mm at narrowest. A velvet tape of 20mm width runs along the inner hem on the moire taffeta. An 80mm Hand-pinked frill is attached to the taffeta and hangs level with or lower than the hemline. Attached just under waistline are two twill tape loops. Right loop is attached 180mm from centre back pocket and left loop is attached 110mm from centre back pocket. Two lengths of twill tape, 370mm, are attached 225mm below the waistline. The left directly under left loop, the right tape is attached at the next gore towards the pocket.

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