My original plan for the HSF15 challenge 5 – Practicality, a regency day-dress, needed to be postponed so to get time to finish this springs biggest undertaking – a hole new 1850-1860s …
Throughout the 19th century, civilian clothing for men and women imitated all sorts of military uniforms in cuts, trim styles, and names. Let’s look at some women’s styles from the the …
Carte de visite by Algenon S. Morse of Nashville, Tenn. Alma S. Wolcott Bennett Olden (1845-1929)served as a nurse during the Civil War. She was married at one time to Gilbert Potter Bennett, who served in Company K of the 27th Iowa Infantry. She was a missionary with the U.S. Christian Commission. I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.
Handmade late Edwardian outfit with tailored plaid wool skirt and apricot-colored linen blouse with DIY crochet lace yoke and cuffs.
To have something to wear with my new plaid 1900s skirt, I wanted to make a new shirtwaist (I do love my old one but sometimes (ok, always) you want something new). And in my stash I found this lov…
Although many people will urge their fellow ACW reenactors or wanna-be reenactors to not wear bodices and skirts that do not match, there is, as usual, a place and a time for everything and in some situations, contrasting bodices and skirts are just absolutely fine. Note: Most of these images are from the originals section at The Graceful Lady website. Please go check out this site for a ton more fabulous images! Here you can see a lady wearing a contrasting skirt and bodice in what would, I presume, be an alternative to a plain working or everyday type dress. It's not fancy and probably not very fashionable, but it looks tidy and neat and put together. This lady does not look particularly young, but she is wearing what appears to be an attractive, decorative hairnet and a bow at the neck. I once played with the idea of recreating an outfit like this one and was advised to make a lightweight, solid colored wool bodice paired with a wool skirt. I haven't made that outfit yet, but most likely will at some point. It would be a rather informal, working outfit to wear while I do active labor. A more fashionable option in the 1860's was the sheer white bodice worn with a nicer skirt (sheer, wool, or silk). This could be accessorized with a decorative belt or coat or both. Most people agree that this was an outfit mostly worn by younger ladies. It was considered quite fashionable so presumably not as common a style as, say, a 1 or 2 piece day dress made with matching bodice/skirt. One pretty ensemble consisted of a skirt, a white bodice and a decorative belt that are termed in reenacting circles as "swiss waists". I found an illustration for the same style belt in La Mode Illustree that calls the belt a "swiss belt". You can see the illustration here: La Mode Illustree Some photos of this style belt are below: (the skirts in these pictures all appear to be of nice silk). In the photos above, the "swiss belt" has shoulder straps, or at least trim that gives the impression of shoulder straps. In this photo, you can see belts with and without shoulder straps. Usually, these white bodices were made of fine, lightweight cotton or silk, sheer or semi-sheer and may or may not be lined. They were cut like a dress bodice and often had a waistband at the waist, and were not tucked in like our modern day blouses. The armscye was dropped and everything was controlled and tidy. Similar to this one: The decorative belts were shaped and cut to the fit the figure and were lined and boned. An alternative name for this type of belt is "corselet" and you can see why! Although shaped and boned in a similar manner to a corset, these belts were NOT true corsets and would be worn OVER a corseted figure. Soooo. . .all that to say, I decided that, since I am 25, I had better make myself a sheer-waist and swiss-belt combination while I am still, hopefully, young enough to wear it. I know 25 is kind of pushing it, but since I will be wearing this outfit when my boys are NOT with me, hopefully I will appear less matronly and more youthful. :) Alas, I went through a similar thing when I was 18 and decided that before I turned 20 I had better get my bum in gear and wear short sleeved, open necked dresses while I was still able to. And besides - I'm not convinced that just because a lady was "older" in the 1860's she would automatically shun what was a fashionable ensemble of the time. Of course, an adult lady would not wear children's fashions but these sheer-bodice-swiss-belt combos show up in period fashion plates on ladies wearing full length skirts and otherwise "adult" attire. .. so?? No one can know for sure. Did any 25 year old ladies wear this type of outfit in the 1860's? I bet they did! Of course, with my usual fantastic planning, I decided I needed this outfit two weeks ago and started working on it on Monday. :P For the swiss belt, I simply tore a strip of mock up fabric and pinned it around my waist and kept on pinning and cutting til it fit me. Here you can see one of the first mock ups. I was having difficulty at this point with figuring out how the shoulder strap stayed UP on the arm since mine kept wanting to fall down. I finally figured out that the strap was cut in one with the swiss belt, and cutting it this way makes it sit well on the arm and prevents it from sliding down. Here is the final pattern I used taken from my last mock up: I used black cotton velvet for my belt and interlined it with tan cotton twill. The lining is of plain white cotton. Here you can see the partially-sewn swiss belt. I sewed the velvet and twill together and then made the casings for the bones (one at each seam and at the center front). I then put in the white lining and finished the front edges with a facing of the velvet. The top and bottom and armscyes were bound with black polished cotton since I didn't have enough of the velvet to use for the binding (plus it would have been pretty bulky). I had to take a tuck in the belt since it came out a bit too big for me, so that is the "extra" seam you see here: I made the belt to lace up the front. One original belt I saw photos of had what appeared to be metal eyelets or lacing rings sewn to the inside of the belt to lace the cord through, versus making hand sewn eyelets. I used black metal eyelets sewn to the inside of my belt to lace it, since I just don't have enough time to make eyelets right now. If the metal eyelets pull or don't work out very well, I can take them off and make eyelets later - for now they seem to work very well! Here is a really bad picture of the finished belt on my dressform over my sheer dress (another option for wearing a belt like this!) Forgive the form - its a bit too big so the dress doesn't close all the way and the waist is laced REALLY wide, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like. I'm VERY happy with how it came out and can't wait to wear it on Saturday! :D Today I am working on the sheer bodice that goes beneath this. For that, I'm using a lovely dotted swiss cotton my dear friend Amy sent to me. The bodice is lined with a half-high lining and is constructed very much like a regular dress bodice. Here is my try on pic when I was marking the waistline - There was some looseness/wrinkling at the shoulders that I didn't really like, so I ended up taking in the shoulder seam a little bit. I think because this material is so light, every little bit of extra fabric shows up as a fold. Taking in the seam seemed to help. It's still not perfect, but better than what it was. I know the waist looks a tad short here, but this is before the waistband was sewn on, which brought everything down exactly to waist level. :) Now for the sleeves! I'm looking forward to wearing this outfit when it's complete. I will pair this bodice and the belt with my brown plaid silk skirt and I think they will work quite nicely together. Who knows, that brown drawn bonnet I've been working on. . .oh. . .since last February? (not really working on it - I haven't TOUCHED it since last February!) may make its debut this weekend too. :) Love, Sarah
Cornelia Hawkins Nisbet, CDV by H. W. Oliver, Rome, New York. Cornelia's name is written on the back, and it carrys a Civil War Revenue Stamp.
A Civil War Era Cross-Over Bodice I have been admiring pictures of Early and Mid-Victorian dresses with a cross-over bodice. They are unique and not seen much at Civil War reenactments. …
Explore Photo Nut 2011's 536761 photos on Flickr!
For this post, I am focusing mainly on the Mid to Late Victorian Era (1855-1901). However, there are tricks for all eras and I will be covering them soon! Corsets are an essential part of almost an…
Butterick B5831 - Unused pattern. Never cut/totally complete/factory folded. Envelope in very good condition. Instructions included. ******Please see all photos to read back of pattern and see style lines of garments.******* **PLEASE CHOOSE WHICH SIZE RANGE YOU WANT THEN ADD TO CART!** **(ONLY SIZES THAT ARE IN STOCK WILL APPEAR IN DROP-DOWN MENU)** Size Range Available: 16/18/20/22/24 (Misses') Sizes: 16/18/20/22/24 Bust: 38" - 46" Waist: 30" - 39" Hip: 40" - 48" Copywrite year: 2012 This is and 00P pattern! For USA & international shipping rates click shipping tab above. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Shipping charges that are collected by me "may not include" VAT Taxes/Fees or any type of customs charges levied by your home country; you may be required to pay additional charges upon arrival determined by customs officials in your country. All sales final. To see more costume patterns from my shop click here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/patternsource?section_id=6684480 To see my entire shop click here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/patternsource
From the seller: Pleasing green sprig printed cotton voile, bodice only, dating to the 1860's With cotton inner bodice, exterior bodice closes with tinyest crochet button, piping thruout with dropped voluminous sleeves. In excellent uncleaned antique as found all original condition. Chest measures 32", waist 22", length from shoulders 15". Small collection out of Vermont estate this week. From Me: Posting will be sporadic this week, I apologize. I'm trying to get my desktop in working condition (it's almost there!) and I'm trying to find a permanent desk at work now that I've switched to a new team. Next week, when I have my own desk and my home computer is full functional again, I'll be able to post more.
I think these waists would have been worn with the spectacular jackets or at home alone. But I'd love to learn more. In any case these ar...
Researching your ancestry is an interesting pastime and can lead to many fascinating discoveries. The internet can be a very useful tool for those who would like to learn more about their family history.
extant, garments, gowns, dresses, outfits, antique, history, historical, textiles, fashion, Victorian, Edwardian, 18th century, Regency
If you're a first-time reenacting lady, heading for "sutler row" to buy your first outfit, you'll see them everywhere. Beautiful billowing white peasant blouses and lovely full flowered skirts. Perfect! You find a set in your size and POOF! You're a reenactress! Then you get on a reenactor online forum and you see this discussion about "the dreaded skirt and blouse combo." You read it and you're in the dumps - apparently the mismatched skirt and blouse are ALL WRONG and were never worn during the war. You sadly consider the cost of buying an entirely new outfit. But THEN you start looking on Pinterest at original photos of Civil War ladies. WAIT! There are ladies in real 1860s photographs wearing a skirt and blouse! Okayyyyy, what's going on here? US National Archives 111-B-1686 Mis-Matched vs Matched The first item to consider is whether Civil War ladies only wore outfits with matching skirt and top, or if they wore mis-matched outfits too. The answer is, they wore both. Sort of. The mainstay of all female wardrobes in the 1860s was the matched skirt and bodice. Sometimes it was a one-piece dress, sometimes the pieces were separate, allowing for two different styles of matching bodice to be worn (a day bodice and an evening bodice, for example). If you looked in any woman's closet, the majority of what you'd find would be dresses with matching skirt and top. Barrington House photo. 1860s. But in the 1860s, a new fashion was just beginning to take hold. A young lady, or a fashionable woman might have an outfit or two in this new style. The style was - you guessed it - a mis-matched skirt and top. BUT... there were very particular parameters for this style. And that's where fashion historians blow a gasket, because the modern sutler version of a white blouse and calico skirt doesn't even come close to fitting the 1860s parameters for what we now call a "skirt and blouse." So let's take a look at what these outfits really looked like. Musées Nationaux-Grand Palais The Typical Blouse A "blouse" was originally a man's garment. Using the term "blouse" for woman's clothing is still a fairly new thing in this era, and it refers to a certain kind of top, one that imitates a gentleman's shirt. Up till now, we have been calling a ladies' top a "bodice," a "waist," or a "body." These terms could mean slightly different things depending on your region. What we call the "blouse" of the 1860s (and I will use this term the rest of this post because it's familiar) was almost always white and almost always very fine, beautiful fabric. Sheer cottons, silks and wools were often used. Tucks, frills, and furbelows of all sorts were generally included. Many times we see ribbon woven into the collar, or even into the whole blouse. It was a sharp looking, well-fitting, high fashion garment. Here is a blouse from the Met Museum made from sheer window-pane fine cotton. It is partially lined and includes a fitted waistband and some lovely ruffles. This gorgeous sheer blouse (it appears to be silk) is puffed to kingdom come! A fitted waistband and frilly collar complete this little piece of elegance. And just one more example (someone please stop me!). This one is so pretty with its detailed white-work flowers. It's likely that white-work was done by hand. The Garibaldi Blouse As I said, blouses were almost always white. The exception was for an outfit mimicking the famous Guiseppe Garibaldi, a freedom fighter in Italy. Garibaldi blouses worn by ladies were generally red, like his was, and included intricate, military-style black trim. You'll often see mock epaulettes on the shoulders. These gorgeous blouses were usually made of fine wool or silk. Because they were solid colored, they were almost never made of cotton - solid cottons were very rare in the 1860s. Lovely - but not for Civil War era! No Peasant Blouses So even though those lovely flowing white blouses on sutler row look so enticing, they're not accurate. The cotton fabric is usually too coarse and heavy, the blouse is too loose and floppy, there is almost never a proper collar - and I'm just getting started! Basically, a ready-made blouse of any kind will probably not look right for our era. Blouses of the 1860s were made to fit YOU and you only. Conversation Piece, Lilly Martin Spencer The Skirt So now we come to the second part of the ensemble. Remember that a "skirt and blouse" combo is considered a high fashion outfit. The cheap floppy calico skirts on sutler row don't make the cut. Skirts of the 1860s were generally fine tightly woven silk or wool. Both solids and patterns were used - but watch out which patterns you choose! Some of our modern designs simply weren't around back then. Plaids and stripes are generally pretty safe (and if you're concerned about a plaid, you can research it online to see when it was created). 1864 Ladies Friend Magazine If you are wearing the typical 1860s white blouse, you can pair it with a skirt of many colors and designs. However, if you're wearing a Garibaldi blouse, it was almost always paired with a black, or black-and-white skirt to complete the look of Garibaldi's uniform. The Belt Now we come to the optional finishing touch. A belt is not necessary for this ensemble, but it does make a nice statement and was quite popular. Here are some types of belts that were worn with these outfits: - Velvet or silk with rectangular metal buckle (like the fashion plate above) - Velvet or silk with double buckle - Rosette belt (came into fashion in the mid-1860s) - Medici belt - these were generally silk, fitted your waist (no bow in the back, a la sutler row) and sometimes beautifully embroidered - Swiss waist - a silk, corset-like garment So if you're a young lady, or if you're portraying a fashion-forward lady, a skirt and blouse ensemble may be for you. But save yourself some money by avoiding sutler row and instead go for the stunning original design: a high-quality finely designed blouse and silk or wool skirt. This young woman shows off the perfect ensemble: Frilly sheer blouse with ribbon woven in, silk medici belt and silk taffeta skirt. Her hair is smoothly in order and her lacy hankie provides the perfect finishing touch. Here's another photo from my sister's collection. Though mother and daughter's faces look almost alike, mama has a fashionable but predictable lady's outfit, probably a one-piece dress with lovely trim. Daughter, on the other hand, is more fashion-forward and is wearing a beautifully trimmed Garibaldi blouse - she probably sewed all that trim on herself! Her dark solid skirt is likely black silk. Both she and mama complete their ensembles with neck bows and ribbon hairnets. Such a lovely couple! If you want to see more gorgeous blouse outfits from the 1860s, check out my Pinterest board on the subject. This outfit was so fun that sis and I decided to attempt it ourselves. We found some lovely sheer cotton and sis made our gorgeous blouses with plenty of tucks and frills. I made the skirts - mine is swishy silk taffeta and sis's is a rich wool. I also made our cockades. And Mom made our snazzy hairnets! I think the whole effect turned out nicely!
Sew your own Historical Civil War Day Dress from 1860's, by designer Andrea Schewe using Simplicity Sewing Pattern #1818, ©2012, Out of Print! NEW / Uncut Sewing pattern for period correct historical costume Civil War Day Dress with trim variations, separate sleeves and collared shirtwaist. Sewing Pattern ONLY – no fabric or other materials included Sizes Available: KK: 8-10-12-14 (all sizes are contained in 1 pattern envelope) Includes: Original Envelope & Instructions Pattern in FACTORY-FOLDED NEW Condition NOTES: Pattern comes from a clean, smoke-free environment Outside pattern envelope may have some shelf wear See back of pattern envelope above for size measurements Pattern ships in water, tear & puncture resistant poly-mailer envelope bag ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ PAYMENT: I accept PayPal, Etsy Payments and Gift Cards SHIPPING: • I add a resealable plastic cover to individual pattern orders for protection • Pattern ships in a water, tear & puncture resistant poly-mailer envelope bag • Item will ship USPS Ground Advantage (formerly First Class Package) unless you select the Priority Mail upgrade (buyer pays for Priority Mail) • Item ships to USA only Please note my shop policies: NO REFUNDS or exchanges, unless the item you received is different than what was listed. Items are pictured and described as clearly and accurately as possible. Please do not purchase if you do not think you really want the item.
