So I’ve been to special collections, and I’m having a rough time turning up much about our purportedly 1913 Daisy Chain dress. There just don’t seem to be more than one or two photos of the 1913 Daisy Chain, and those photos are quite unclear. The good news is that I feel that the dress very well could be a Daisy dress, as it seems to fit the general look, even with the sash, which I believe is original. Many of the photos of the daisy chain through the 1910s show girls wearing sashes that appear to be darker than their white dresses (if only a little). The dramatic shattering of the silk sash also lends weight to its original pairing with the dress, even if the whole ensemble isn’t daisy chain.
I have one lead in an old copy of the Misc that I’m going to pursue, but other than that I’m kind of stumped.
In slightly more general news, it appears that there were no uniform dresses in the 1910s…I’m beginning to think the uniform might have come later, especially because it might have been easier to procure a standardized cut in a larger number of garments and a variety of sizes. More on that later.
For those of you still looking around for research, I’ve discovered that the old Vassarions have a lot of useful information. In addition to listing the members of the daisy chain (at least back in the teens) they also have close up photos of sports teams, clubs, and other groups. They have a complete collection of them in the reading room of special collections, and I dont think you need an appointment to look through them?
Hopefully this was helpful. If anyone has any ideas about where else I might look, I’d appreciate it!
Yes, I need to carve out some time to spend with those Vassarions myself! I have discovered that a few of them are online, through Google books.
I do have another lead for you, though, Chloe. I just looked through our old donation letters, from before the collection was really documented (so we don’t know which letters go with which dresses). Apparently Vassar president Sarah Gibson Blanding donated several dresses, including a 1908 Daisy Chain dress worn by Helen Hosterman, class of 1910 (later Mrs. Lawrence Pascal Humphrey). There are also notes about Hazel Hosterman, Class of 1910 (Mrs. William B. Murphy) and Elizabeth Hosterman, class of 1913 (Mrs. Charles B. Rowly). I wonder if any of these ladies are connected to your dress?
I’m looking at Class Day in the 1930s, and I know someone is doing a 1924 Daisy Chain dress. It looks like the tradition of doing a uniform, pastel-colored dress for the seniors didn’t start until the 1920s. I wonder if this coincides with any sort of fashionable store opening up near campus?
Also, there are yearbooks on the regular shelves all the way in the back of (I think) room 49. The ads in the back are useful–maybe there could be a store that is advertising a dress similar to yours.