Dress #122: Victorian day dress in purple mouse where this fibre was cultivated

where this fibre was cultivated and processed

until I found this delightful (if slightly guilty-looking) specimen in the 1918 book ‘Wild Animals of North America: Intimate Studies of Big and Little Creatures of the Mammal Kingdom’

Materials: Nepalese paper

and pearls on the bodice and sleeves

Dress #122: Victorian day dress in purple mouse where this fibre was cultivatedThis hand stitched paper dress is based on a day dress from the early 1880s; the original was offered for sale by Augusta Auctions in 2022. The fabric was dyed with mauveine, one of the first synthetic dyes. Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was discovered accidentally by William Henry Perkins in 1856 in an attempt to synthesize quinine, which is used in the treatment of malaria. The dress is six inches tall, stitched by hand