Dolman Cape

PeriodCirca 1875-1885

(not assigned)Possibly New York, New York, U.S.A.

MediumSilk plush velvet, plain woven silk, satin, cotton

Dimensions40 × 17 in. (101.6 × 43.2 cm)

SignedThe cape retains its original black and gold woven retailer's label sewn to the inside back neck, reading "James McCreery & Company, New York,"

ClassificationsCostume, Women's

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Harold McDermott, 1935

Object number765

DescriptionA woman's dolman cape of rich brown plush velvet, with a high standing collar, long tabbed front, gathered sleeve caps, cutaway oversleeves revealing shaped undersleeves, with alternate hook-and-eye front closure. The entire dolman is elaborately trimmed with wide foliate cutwork panels in shades of brown, with over embroidery in russet and gold. The oversleeves and front tabs are edged with silk cord-wrapped bobble fringe. The dolman cape's lining is a quilted plain woven tan silk. The garment retains its original retailer's label.
Curatorial RemarksSarah Josephine Conover's elegant dolman cape, with its rich brown plush velvet trimmed with elaborate embroidered cutwork panels and bobble fringe, came from the popular and stylish New York department store of James McCreery and Company. Opened in 1868 at Broadway and 11th Street, the McCreery Department Store boasted an elegant three-story Second Empire cast iron facade and large street-level plate glass windows. From its beginning, McCreery's focused on the fashionable female customer. An 1872 newspaper article described the store's "shawls, silks, and furs, of good quality, and specially suited to the season...a fine selection of goods intended for ladies' use." Shoppers could select from a dazzling array of silks, linens, and other fabrics; laces; ready made garments such as capes, cloaks, and dolmans; and numerous other accessories and "ladies furnishings." The building, damaged by fire in 1971, was scheduled for demolition but was saved and converted into apartments and still stands at Broadway and 11th Street. Dolman capes are distinctively styled and were popular from about 1876 to the early 1880s. They were made with elongated front panels and short backs in order to fit gracefully over the bustled fashions of the time.NotesThis elegant dolman cape was owned and worn by Freehold resident Sarah Josephine Bleakley. Born in 1844 in Verplanck, Westchester County, New York, Sarah married lawyer James Clarence Conover in 1877. The couple had one child named Rosalie Bleakley Conover. Rosalie married Freehold lawyer Harold McDermott in 1912, and donated many of her mother's garments, including this dolman cape, to the Association in 1935.

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