This beautiful red dress c. 1890 belonged to Amy Hostetter (1858-1941) of Pittsburg, PA. Amy was married to Herbert DuPuy in 1879 and had five children. Her husband, Herbert, was a businessman involved with the steel industry and a friend of Andrew Carnegie. Together the couple were involved in many philanthropic activities, including donating rooms of art to the collection at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
According to our original records, Amy’s father, David Hostetter, was the founder of Angostura Bitters. However, after additional research we believe that he was actually the founder of Hostetter’s Celebrated Bitters, which was developed around 1850 and continued through the early 1900s under the guidance of Hostetter family members. The product later became Hostetter’s Tonic in the late 1950s. The dress was donated to our museum by Amy’s daughter, Mrs. Eunice DuPuy Culver in the late 1960s.
In keeping with fashion trends in the early 1890s, the dress features enormous puffs at the shoulders. The dress itself is made from a heavy silk taffeta with a pattern of flowers and abstract swirls woven into the fabric. The front of the bodice is embellished with a bright pink chiffon ruffle that brings out the lighter pink flowers against the deeper red of the gown. The waist and neck are finished with black trim, and the neck fastenings are covered by a simple pink rosette at the back.
Video was originally created August 10, 2022
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