Jessie Franklin Turner

This luxurious ensemble was made for entertaining at home. The satin bias-cut dress skimmed the figure, while the velvet robe enveloped it. The intricate construction of the robe—with multiple pattern pieces at the waist seam, mitered pieces at derrière, and engineered cuffs—is a signature of the designer Jessie Franklin Turner.

The cuffs, dripping with re-embroidered silver lace, must have appealed in particular to Helen Danforth, an avid collector of lace who donated many examples to the RISD Museum’s collections. Most of the small lace samples on view here were donated by Danforth’s aunt, Eliza Greene Metcalf Radeke.