This dress was owned by Mary Belle Myers (1874-1958) who was a prominent supporter of several charities including Children’s Hospital and Lighthouse for the Blind. Her family made its fortune in the salmon canning business. The larger size of this gown is rare since, typically, surviving examples of clothing from the past are smaller-sized, creating an inaccurate notion that most people were smaller in the past. Clothing used to be more expensive, so larger garments were often reused and restyled many times. This dress may have been saved by its elaborate beading—any reduction would butcher the pattern.