Young Swedish Blonde Girl Posing On The Hope Chest

The term "hope chest" or "cedar chest" may be used primarily by Midwestern and Southern U.S. women, while "glory box" is used by women in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Social context of a hope chest
The collection of a trousseau was a common coming-of-age rite until approximately the 1950s; it was typically a step on the road to marriage between courting a man and engagement. It wasn't always collected in a special chest, hence the alternative UK term bottom drawer, which refers to putting aside one drawer in a chest of drawers for collecting the trousseau undisturbed, but such a chest was an acceptable gift for a girl approaching a marriageable age. Such chests may have been inherited from their mother or female relatives. They are still a popular gift from woodworking fathers.