Hither and Yon

fripperiesandfobs: Day dress ca. 1860-65 From...

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:00:05 -0500

Day dress ca. 1860-65

From Modemakt

Actually circa 1870. That is a severely gored skirt with minimal bustle. It’s also very short, probably either for walking or lawn games like croquet.

fripperiesandfobs: Morning dress ca. 1860’s From the Powerhouse...

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:00:06 -0500

fripperiesandfobs:

Morning dress ca. 1860’s

From the Powerhouse Museum

Whoops! The Powerhouse Museum made a mistake on this one, or maybe a typo. It’s definitely not 1860s. It looks sort of tea-gown-ish, maybe from the 1900s??? It’s decades later than 1860, though.

alltheprettydresses: From the seller: This gown dates to the...

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:00:06 -0500

alltheprettydresses:

From the seller:

This gown dates to the early 1850’s and is fashioned of a rich striped paisley cotton calico fabric, shoulders heavily ruched with a taped backing, buttons closed down its front from throat to sweep. Belting is attached at each side of the waist, the sleeves are bell in fashion, in a point at the outer arm, inner arm has gathering to the bell with fabric covered coin buttons gathering it up. The gown is fully piped throughout, arm holes, shoulder seams, and sleeve seams and is fully hand sewn. The inner sleeve falls full length. The interior is fully lined in a rich blue striped plaid fabric, the waistline interior has built in drawstrings at each side running through hand stitched small grommet holes. The rear of the gown has seen an insert of repair beneath the collar of a red floral print fabric that was hand stitched into place. There is a tear to the right side that is jagged, measuring 4 inches, a reinforced repair to the collar on the back side, right shoulder has seen frayed breakage as well with three small grouped tears. There is wear to the front piping at the throat, three of the fabric covered buttons are absent, inner lining is fully intact but does show tears around each of the inner arm holes, splits at the rear inner seat to the lining, with wear and splits to the lining around the button enclosure. Each cuff has a small amount of surface wear with small openings to the piping. A wonderful and rear piece none the less, sold reflective of the condition, measures 46 inches around the bust, a waist adjustable to a full 60 inches around, and flows 57 inches in its length.

This is so interesting! First, it’s definitely a wrapper. The front bodice and skirt are just two straight lengths of fabric and it has a self collar and self tie belt. Those are all hallmarks of a wrapper.

The sleeves, though, are something else. They look almost 1830s to me! Maybe early 1840s. The very slender undersleeve, cut on the bias, combined with fullness at the elbow looks very much early 1840s.

So I’m guessing it’s a wrapper, but from the early 1840s and not the 1850s.

alltheprettydresses: from the seller: Taupe dotted iridescent...

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:00:06 -0500

alltheprettydresses:

from the seller:

Taupe dotted iridescent silk fan front early gown dating to the 1840’s. Period fashion of the deep fan front with fan array of stays, piped edges of bodice with tight cartridge pleating at skirt waist. Back hand hammered hook and eye closure, cap sleeve over long bell sleeves, sleeves lined in pure white silk, ruffled detail end of the bells. Wool twill tape at hem, completely hand sewn and with the lining of brown buckram, side/front in seam pocket. In all original condition completely unmessed with, as found.With some scattered spot staining on front of skirt, otherwise very good condition, underarm’s very good. Small size may have been for young miss. Chest measures 28”, waist 22”, length 50”.

I think this is late 1840s or very early 1850s. I LOVE the detail pictures of the inside construction. The turndown at the top of the skirt is clearly visible, as well as the wide waistband it’s gauged (cartridge-pleated) to. Plus the channels for the whalebone or steel stays that hold the front point. The frills on the sleeves are edged in narrow self-binding, gathered over a cord, and sewn on by hand. I knew that gathering over a cord was done on flounced skirts, but not on frills! So pretty. The size is so small it could either be a young girl or a small woman; it’s not a particularly girlish style.

alltheprettydresses: The seller claims this is from the 1860’s...

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:00:06 -0500

alltheprettydresses:

The seller claims this is from the 1860’s but the shoulders and the trim placement strike me as much more 1850’s.

From the seller:

A fetching 1860’s Civil War era paisley print cotton dress. The fabric has a beige, brown and aqua blue stripe paisley pattern. The bodice is trimmed with a ruffle that extends over the top of the sleeves. The sleeve cuffs are also trimmed with ruffles. The bodice is lined with cotton and has a front button closure. The armscyes and waist are piped. The dress is all hand stitched. The skirt is attached to the waist with cartridge pleating and is unlined. There is also a separate belt (forgot to include it in the photos) and an extra ruffle piece that was probably attached to the bottom skirt hemline. The dress is in very good condition. There is some very light underarm discoloration on the cotton lining , the skirt has a couple of small pea size holes and one 2 inch repair. Bust 34 Waist 26 Skirt length 41 Width at hemline 134.

The trim placement, particularly down the back side seams, is something I haven’t seen before. But I have to go with an early-to-mid 1860s date.

(1) There is a small band collar. Those collars really don’t show up in CDVs at all until about 1863 at the earliest. They’re definitely not 1850s.

(2) The sleeves are shaped “coat” sleeves. See how the stripes run straight down from the shoulder to the elbow, then run off the side. That is also peculiar to the 1860s.

P.S. I love the print!

omgthatdress: Dress ca. 1843 via The Costume Institute of the...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:10:48 -0500

omgthatdress:

Dress ca. 1843 via The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

LOVE. Why, oh why, won’t they make printed wools any more?!

yeoldefashion: A view of the back of this very awesomely...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:00:06 -0500

yeoldefashion:

A view of the back of this very awesomely constructed circa 1902 wool bathing corset.

When you consider the cut of stylish turn of the century bathing suits it’s easy to see why bathing corsets were necessary.

I love clever corsetry designs! This one is particularly awesome. Wool is stretchy and more comfortable when wet than cotton, and the engineering is so flexible. Excellent for giving support and some waist definition, but nowhere near as stiff as an ordinary corset.

oldrags: Bathing suit, ca 1900-15 England, MFA Boston SO CUTE.

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:01:06 -0500

oldrags:

Bathing suit, ca 1900-15 England, MFA Boston

SO CUTE.

Regency fashion inspired by literature! (At least, I think so!)...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:03:06 -0500

Regency fashion inspired by literature! (At least, I think so!) Pamela was an immensely-popular novel first published in 1740. I can certainly believe this simple, stylish bonnet is suitable for its virtuous heroine.

In other subjects, notice another jumper dress! The short sleeves of the shirt are certainly elaborate. What do you think of the pink with red accessories?

1801-1802, Costume Parisien. Chapeau á la Paméla.

Regency lady knitting! I wonder what she’s making with...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:00:06 -0500

Regency lady knitting! I wonder what she’s making with such big, long needles? I do doubt it’s an afghan…

Other details: Light blue trained gown that may be a “jumper” dress. The blue is very low at the bust but there might be a thin line of white above it, and the sleeves are definitely white. The tan or copper-colored long mitts are wonderful. And I really like the yellow pointy shoes, and the matching fichu with the simple embroidered pattern. Her cap is simple but pretty, almost old-fashioned to my eyes, but surely it’s fashionable in a plate like this! And the big shawl on the table is certainly a luxury item.

1801-1802, Costume Parisien. Bonnet garni en Tulle. Fichu sur l’épaule.

Striking use of color. (Is it just me or is the left sleeve...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:00:06 -0500

Striking use of color. (Is it just me or is the left sleeve different from the right?) I love the colored binding around the neck, and I’d love to see more of the blue wool shawl. That is some bizarre turban, though.

1801-1802, Costume Parisien. Turban Orné d’un Esprit. Schall de Drap.

“Turban of fantasy”! I would dearly love to see a...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:00:06 -0500

“Turban of fantasy”! I would dearly love to see a reproduction of this turban and hairstyle. The whole ensemble is quite exotic, especially with the slit sleeves.

1801-1802, Costume Parisien. Turban de fantasisie. Robe Croisée en fichu.

Detail of a c. 1866 gown made from magnificent copper and blue...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:16:06 -0500

Detail of a c. 1866 gown made from magnificent copper and blue striped silk.

The acorn-shaped buttons are covered silk, possibly (probably?) made from a matching scrap of silk instead of cutting up more of that gorgeous stripe. The trim is ruching, very typical of the 1860s: Self-fabric cut on the bias with edges cut in small scallops (similar to pinking), gathered down the middle and sewn up. Bias edges ravel very slightly, for a soft effect, and ruffle up better than straight pieces.

I do not know if the collar is original to the dress. I’ve read that tape laces (like Battenburg) were not used for garments in the middle of the century. At the same time, I’m not sure why it would have been added, or when.

(Source: Time Travelers Antiques, off ebay years ago.)

Flamboyant gown in purple and white striped taffeta. I have no...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:00:06 -0500

Flamboyant gown in purple and white striped taffeta. I have no more information about this gown, but I would guess that it’s mid/late 1860s. The jacket-like bodice shows up in the 1850s as well, but is much less common in the early 1860s. The flat front of the skirt is definitely a late 1860s effect. The shaped but open sleeves are also an 1860s shape.

I would like to see more detail of the trim on the bodice and skirt. The skirt trim looks like bands of material, either ribbon or cut from the dress fabric, ruched up and tacked on. There is more on the sleeves, and what look like bows at the waist.

Notice how the stripes are patterned on the bodice. Modern pattern matching seeks to make a garment look like one solid piece of material. Instead, the seamstress chose to mirror-image the pattern and have a super-wide stripe of purple, with a narrow strip of white down the middle to highlight the purple buttons.

1850s evening or dinner dress in a boldly-patterned silk with...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:01:06 -0500

1850s evening or dinner dress in a boldly-patterned silk with copper-colored trim. Wide “pagoda” sleeves were popular throughout the 1850s and into the 1860s, but the shape changed gradually through the years. The way these are gathered at the top is more typical of the mid 1850s. The wide, shallow v-shaped waistline is also typical of the 1850s.

This is likely some kind of evening dress, for dinner or other gatherings, but not intended for formal ball wear. The wide, open neckline paired with long evening sleeves is indicative of evening wear.

(Source: Time Travelers Antiques, off ebay years ago.)

Mid 1860s gown. The material is black silk with embroidered...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:05:06 -0500

Mid 1860s gown. The material is black silk with embroidered flowers in blue and silver; the trim is blue silk under black lace. Without a better shot of the skirt it’s difficult to date exactly, but my instinct says as late as 1868. There’s a lot of skirt dragging over that round hoop.

I have plans to make a similar dress out of fine black wool, trimmed with bright electric blue silk ribbon in an elaborate folded pattern. It’ll be my Not Mourning dress, because alas! so many people assume that black dress = mourning, and that’s simply not true. Maybe the electric blue will be a hint!

(Source: Saved off a website probably 10 years ago. I think the dress was for sale at the time.)

oldrags: Bonnet, 1860’s United States (Lexington, Mass), MFA...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:00:06 -0500

oldrags:

Bonnet, 1860’s United States (Lexington, Mass), MFA Boston

Early 1860s, definitely. Notice the narrow width of the straw braid. Also, the bonnet is made from straw in two pieces, brim (front) and crown (back). The join is covered by the velvet ribbon, but you can tell because there’s a solid braid of straw on the brim edge although the brim is wider at the top than at the sides. This is a detail that reproduction or costume bonnets made from straw hats never have right, because to get the right shape they end up with cut straw ends on the brim.

Also notice the huge sloppy stitches holding on the ribbon. It’s typical to have big, sloppy stitching for trims, not only on bonnets but even on dresses. Bonnets and dresses were re-trimmed constantly, and it was a waste of effort to sew things down securely.

Fur on a ball dress. And are those grapes in her hair? 1810,...

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 08:00:06 -0500

Fur on a ball dress. And are those grapes in her hair?

1810, Costume Parisiens. Costume de Bal en Lévantine. Garni en Martre.

I like the effect of the dark spencer jacket with the colored...

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:00:00 -0500

I like the effect of the dark spencer jacket with the colored gown. Made from velvet and wool, this looks like such a cozy outfit.

1810, Costume Parisien. Chapeau de Velours. Canezou de Velours. Robe de Mérinos.

Orange! (Burnt orange? Sienna? Melon?) Whatever. While there are...

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:00:06 -0500

Orange! (Burnt orange? Sienna? Melon?) Whatever. While there are lots of blues and greens in Regency fashion plates, and more than a few reds and yellows, orange is quite a bit less common. This redingote is trimmed with some type of heavy cording that looks a bit metallic to me, but it may be a woven design off a shawl - “Cachemire” = cashmere, methinks.

1810, Costume Parisien. Toque de Velours. Redingote. Garnie en Chefs de Cachemire.