On Thu, Aug 2, 2018 at 10:16 AM, Elizabeth Walton
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

What it comes down to is that historic costume is incredibly complicated and if at all possible please have someone highly trained in costume history/care do your identification and cataloguing. I have had to correct more wrong IDs than I can count in collections over the years and then see them displayed with the wrong information as a result. (Please stop assuming all white dresses are wedding dresses!)

If you have not studied costume at length you will have wrong information in your database (wrong dates, wrong materials, wrong ID). Many "dresses" will actually be in multiple pieces in the 18th and 19th century, making it more of an ensemble than a dress (they frequently would have day and evening bodices with the same skirt, they look like a single piece when dressed). In the 20th century one piece dresses are common, but not before.

As others have pointed out there are many kinds of gowns that are not anything like dresses.

On Wed, Aug 1, 2018 at 10:44 AM, Josh Jordan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I have a question regarding how institutions differentiate between a "dress" and a "gown" in their catalogs. Does it have to do with the material it is made from? Is it the event the garment would be worn to? What criteria is used? I did see in Chenhall's Nomenclature that a gown is a type of dress.

Want to know how institutions in the field define the terms.

Thanks

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