hope chest 
noun North American
A chest containing household linen and clothing stored by a woman in preparation for her marriage: she was embroidering dish towels for Rosette’s hope chest...
- The young bride (16 to 20 years was a common marrying age) prepared for her wedding by filling her hope chest with hand made quilts, tablecloths, and linens.
- I could pick out the flaws; my room was a bit dusty and there were some dirty clothes in a small pile by my closet door and some folded up clothes sitting on my hope chest under my window.
- My mom was cleaning out her hope chest and found some old photo albums.