Dr. Cassie Keen Turner’s beaded cocktail dress with a handkerchief hem represents conservative, but up-to-date 1920s style.

The drop-waist lace overdress features a shallow V-neck, and the long sleeves provide appropriate coverage for the mature woman. The dress, when gifted to Maine Historical Society in 1993, was paired with an oversized orange velvet bow, which may or may not be original to the dress. The dress and velvet bow convey the decade’s appreciation for shades of orange. Lacking a label, the garment was likely dressmaker made.

Physician Cassie Keen Turner (1878-1975), originally from Palermo, graduated from the Massachusetts College for Osteopathy in 1918. She practiced in Portland near Woodford’s Corner, and later at a Congress Street location for nearly 40 years.