Mary Lincoln's Fashions

[Eva Elisabeth]

Laurie, in order to be either en vogue today or extremely retro (like this totanic statuette) you should have turned the earrings into flesh tunnels:
   
I searched this site:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/lincoln/abraham-and-mary
... a little more and found more fascinating items you might like, too, but they are a litte scattered, so I post them here (hope that's ok - maybe you already know all these).

Mary Lincoln’s purple velvet skirt and daytime bodice are believed to have been made by African American dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly. The first lady wore the gown during the Washington winter social season in 1861–62. Both pieces are piped with white satin, and the bodice is trimmed with mother-of pearl buttons. An evening bodice was included with the ensemble. The lace collar is of the period, but not original to the dress. After Abraham Lincoln’s death, Mary went into mourning and remained in widow’s clothes until her own death in 1882. She gave some of her White House finery to family members. Her cousin, Elizabeth Todd Grimsley, received this purple velvet ensemble. In 1916 Grimsley’s son, John, sold the ensemble to Mrs. Julian James for the Smithsonian’s new First Ladies Collection.
John Grimsley attributed this dress to a “seamstress of exceptional ability” who “made nearly all of Mrs. Lincoln’s gowns.” Although he mistook her name as “Ann,” he most likely was referring to Elizabeth Keckly:
       
Mary Lincoln’s gold evening purse, 1863. Her name and the year were engraved inside the ring:
   
Here's also A. L.'s "last cup of coffee", Toia once told its story. Capt. D. W. Taylor presented this cup to Robert Todd Lincoln in 1887. He explained that a White House servant had seen the president leave the cup behind on a windowsill just before departing for the theater, and had preserved it as a relic of that tragic night.
   
Mourning Watch - Mary Lincoln used this black onyx lapel watch as her personal timepiece for the remainder of her life:
   
This gold scarf pin with an image of Abraham Lincoln was among Mary Lincoln’s possessions when she died: