Images(3)

Woman's Cape

PeriodCirca 1880 - 1900

Place MadeNew York, New York, U.S.A.

MediumWool, silk, velvet

Dimensions44 in. (111.8 cm)

SignedA narrow woven black and gold silk retailer's label is sewn to the inside back neck and reads "Le Boutillier Brothers / Paris / New York."

ClassificationsCostume, Women's

Credit LineGift of Miss Julie B. Fouche

Object number1988.710

DescriptionA woman's cape, of soft off-white heavy-weight wool, cut on the half circle with rounded left and right front edges. The edges of the wool are unfinished and cut into scallops.The cloak includes a wide collar, hook and eye front closures, and a lining of deep purple silk. A band of purple silk velvet is applied along the cloak's hem above a wide band of wool, and highlighted with off-white silk cording and purple chenille thread French knots.
Curatorial RemarksThe firm of Le Boutillier Brothers was an old and respected dry goods firm in business for more than eighty years. Thomas Le Boutillier (1816 - 1880) emigrated to the United States from Gurnsey in 1838. He and his brother Charles opened their dry goods business on Broadway in New York City in 1839. The following year, the brothers established a second store in Philadelphia. In 1844, the brothers opened a third store, this one in Cincinnati, under the management of their brother James. In 1868, the stores were successful enough that the brothers decided to move their New York store to a more fashionable location, this time in a large and well-lit building on Broadway and 14th Street. Early advertisements for the firm noted that shoppers could find "a large assortment of silks, for dresses, the cheapest they have ever offered." Le Boutillier Brothers sold fabrics of all sorts, ribbons, trimmings, embroidered panels for use in garments, gloves, mitts, stockings, shawls, parasols, and even household linens such as embroidered tablecloths. Both Thomas and his brother Charles were highly respected businessmen and were recognized as authorities in dress good fabrics. Charles Le Boutillier served as one of the judges in the "Wool and Silk" category in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In his obituary, Thomas Boutillier was described as "an industrious and energetic merchant...known as an upright and honorable man." After Thomas Le Boutillier's death in 1880, his two sons Charles (1855-1939) and John G. (1846-1907) continued the firm's operations, moving the New York store to another location, this time at 23rd Street. Upon Charles Le Boutillier's retirement in 1911, the firm's entire stock was sold to Strawbridge & Clothier.NotesThis elegant pale gray cape, with its vibrant purple silk trimmings and hand embroidered details, was owned and worn by Elizabeth "Lissie" Lalor Barricklo Fouche. Born in 1854 in New Jersey, Elizabeth Barricklo married Dr. William W. Fouche in 1878. The cape may have been part of Lissie's trousseau. "Trousseau" in French simply means "bunch." However, for many centuries, "trousseau" meant a bride's clothing, accessories, and household linens gathered prior to her marriage. Lissie's own trousseau may have included gowns for both formal and informal wear, undergarments, and accessories including the gray and purple cape. Lissie's daughter Julie B. Fouche, named for one of Lissie's sisters, donated her mother's cape to the Historical Association in 1941.

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