Unfinished Antique Dress

Hi, Thanks for letting me join you. I have a partially made, almost 100 year old dress that I have acquired from my 84-year-old cousin a couple years ago. The story goes that our great aunt was a dressmaker for a wealthy woman in Philadelphia in the 1920s. This was a dress that she was making for a client and was never finished. It has some beautiful stitching and beadwork etc. on it. Fabric is rather delicate at this point but I think you can appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this. I don’t know how to preserve it or if anyone could repurpose the beadwork and embellished portions. I really would love to be able to do something with it other than keeping it packed away as it has been for so many years. Any recommendations?
Thank you for your attention. Please contact me with any questions, my cousin could tell you stories for sure. She is in Pennsylvania and is still pretty active for her age.

 

Beautiful dress and great backstory. Are you looking to preserve it for display? Or did you want to have the dress completed?

 

It looks quite complete and wearable from your photos. What work needs doing?

As you have a good provenance, you could contact a local museum or historical society in Philadelphia for their collection.

 

I too thought it looked finished. Beautiful

 

Thank you ladies for your responses. There is some basting still on the side seams and the armholes are not finished, not sure if it would have a belt or sash. The fabric, particularly the underlayer is very fragile and will tear if under any stress. I guess my hope is to at the very least preserve it. I will start looking into Philadelphia museums. Thank you for that suggestion.
I also have several articles of baby clothing from both my 84 year old cousin and my aunt born in 1903. I just really want to get these items in the hands of someone to continue caring for them.