Wednesday, January 23, 2013

American Civil War Era Dress







From the seller:

An enchanting 1860’s civil War Era mauve plaid silk two piece dress. The bodice has full pagoda style sleeves that are trimmed with beige silk ribbon and fringe. The neck, armscyes and waist are piped. The bodice is lined with cotton and has a front button closure. The button are mauve colored and outlined with gold. The skirt is fully lined with cotton. The dress is in very good display condition. There is mild underarm discoloration, a ¼ inch surface only split under one arm and a few scattered tiny age spots and pencil tip size holes. The largest age spot is on the front of the bodice. Bust 32 Waist 26 Skirt length 41 Width at hemline 136.

From Me:

I'm going to say this is early 1860's. It almost looks like an 1850's dress that was redesigned but it's hard to tell without inside shots.

3 comments:

  1. I was going to say the same thing. The waistline is perfectly straight, but it's a little long and the darts seem to give it a rather tubular shape.

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    Replies
    1. It looks like it wants a point at the front waistline and someone just chopped it off - which was common during the war. ;-)

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    2. Exactly! It's an easy update to do. Unlike refashioning late 1860s into 1870s - which is why there are so many late 1860s left kicking around. ;)

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