Conservation and restoration works on the dress from the Collection of Textiles and Fashion Accessories of the Varaždin City Museum

Višegodišnja suradnja Gradskog muzeja Varaždin i Hrvatskog restauratorskog zavoda rezultirala je preuzimanjem raznovrsne povijesne tekstilne građe na konzerviranje i restauriranje u Odjel za tekstil Hrz-a. Haljina inventarnog broja gmv-KPo 2888 kao primjer ženskog odjevnog predmeta s početka 19. stoljeća, dio je Zbirke tekstila i modnog pribora Gradskog muzeja Varaždin. Uz više kompleta, dijelova ženske odjeće i modnih dodataka već restauriranih na Odjelu za tekstil, haljina će biti izložena u budućem stalnom postavu tekstilne građe Gradskog muzeja Varaždin.The long cooperation between Varaždin’s City Museum and the Croatian Conservation Institute has resulted in the preservation and restoration of a variety of historical textiles at the Textiles Department of the Croatian Conservation Institute. The dress carrying the inventory number GMV-KPO 2888 is an example of a female garment from the early 19th century and belongs to the Collection of Textiles and Fashion Accessories of the Varaždin City Museum. Its construction, characterized by a high waist and a slight “A cut” of the lower part, a deep oval neckline, short sleeves and the drape cords for closing the dorsal opening, correspond to empire style in women’s clothing. Additional sleeves are worn throughout the day and for the evening they get removed whilst the dress gets completed with gloves, a scarf and other fashion accessories so that the garment achieves commemorative features of an evening gown. In contrast to the style that fits the empire period, the fabric that the dress is made of comes from the second half of the 18th century. During the research period and conservation and restoration work, more historical interventions were spotted. Together with some conversions, they were executed in order to stabilize and conceal the damage caused by rodent activity. For the purpose of exhibiting the dress as a part of the museum’s permanent collection, an exhibition dress stand was made and manually refined to suit the size and shape of the garment