Child’s Ruffled Satin Dress

Between 1930 and 1940

Handmade of pale pink satin, ruffles ring a dress once worn by a girl who grew up in Washington, DC. The round neckline features four rows of ruffles, while a single ruffle finishes each short sleeve, made puffy by gathers at the shoulders. A ruffle encircles the bottom of the full skirt and, above it, two tiers of ruffles stop inches before meeting in the front. A matching satin sash ties at the waist. The fancy dress belonged to Jacqueline Griffith, a lifelong District resident and the only child of Allen and Delaphine Griffith. Born around 1927, she resided in her family’s northwest Washington home until her death in the early 1990s. Her clothing and dolls in the Anacostia Community Museum’s collection complement the Griffith Family Papers in the Museum’s Archives, together documenting three generations of this African American family.