Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Cotton Baby Smock, c. 1920s |
Object Name |
Smock |
Description |
Cotton Baby Smock, c. 1920s. Simple off-white cotton smock with pink ribbon edging and tie ribbon at neck. When piece is laid flat it has five "lobes," but when it is draped over a doll the lobes form sleeves, and the front and back of the piece. Item appears hand-made. Most likely used for dressing baby dolls. Both sleeves have reinforced ribbon sewn mid-sleeve. One sleeve is folded at the shoulder, while the other is open. |
Date |
c. 1920s |
Catalog Number |
2010.171.015Q |
Collection |
3D - Clothing |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Fiber Artist |
Inscription Text |
none |
Provenance |
Baby clothes of Helen Neuling Guido, and photograph of infant Helen in same clothing, 1920. |
Notes |
"The smock did not originate as a child's garment or as an outer garment. It was from the beginning, however, a protective garment. The smock is actually the most basic of all undergarments and the one with the longest history. The word 'smock' is an old English word for a shift or chemise, hence the word 'smocking' came to be applied to the ornamental gathering of the necks of these garments. The earliest smocks were simple shirt-like garments and came into being in Anglo-Saxon times. Many European countries also used smocking on their garments.The words smock, shirt, shift, and chemise all refer to the same garment except that shirt appears to refer to a man's garment, smock and shift a woman's, and chemise, a French woman's. The purpose of these is all the same: to protect the rich fabrics of the upper garments from body oil and perspiration." [http://histclo.com/style/skirted/Smock/smock-origin.html 3/23/2017] |
Dimensions |
H-19.25 W-23 inches |
Medium |
Textile |
Search Terms |
Baby Baby Bib Clothing Costumes Guido, Helen Neuling |
Subjects |
Clothing & dress Infants |
People |
Guido, Helen Neuling |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Francesca Guido |