Mary Lincoln's Fashions

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thank you very much, Donna. Is the engraving in your book?

There's an engraving on p.115 here: https://archive.org/stream/perleysreminisce6875poor - next to the text passage which describes her wardrobe as follows:

"Mrs.Lincoln was dressed in a white satin dress with low neck and short sleeves.It was trimmed with black lace flounces,which were looped up with knots of ribbon, and she wore a floral head-dress, which was not very becoming."

But the dress in this engraving doesn't seem to have any black lace flounces?!?

I came across the "dozens of black flowers in remembrance of Prince Albert" in Kevin Peraino's "Lincoln in the World". His sources are Catherine Clinton's "Mrs. Lincoln", Jean Baker's "M.T.L.", and Perley's Reminiscences (above). Jean Baker also mentiones "hundered of black flounces", so the newspaper articles etc. she refers to sure won't differ from that. I don't have C. Clinton's book and thus can't trace this way back.
However, Donna, when you say there is no contemporary source for "black flowers" then it's probably a matter of poetic license by Mr. Peraino. But from flounces to flowers? Personally, I would find both depressing for a trimming of a white dress (though I think it was not uncommon), but black flowers far more, so for me mourning would have made sense. (Although white lilies usually symbolize death, but maybe not in the Victorian rituals). Nevertheless I would have loved to see such a dress!

Thanks, Donna, also for the reference to Julia Taft's book! This seems in the end another contraindication as she writes: "At the time of...the death of the Prince Consort..., it was rumored...that Mrs. Lincoln intended to follow the example of European courts and put Tue 'Republican Court' into ceremonial mourning, the women wearing purple dresses." Purple, not white thus.