Tuesday, October 18, 2011

1850's Antebellum Dress







From the seller:

Just a stunning gown in a very unusual fabric. The fabric, which is moderately heavy, has 3 distinct patterns, woven as one piece. The brocade is a shaded brown alternating with a changeable silk of blue and gold metallic, plus a ribbon strip of pink, white and green. The sleeves are lined with blue silk, the bodice and skirt with cotton, the bodice is boned, it closes in front with hooks and eyes, is piped at the sleeves, neckline, and waist. The skirt is expertly cartridge pleated all the way around, there is a wool binding at the bottom edge, the gown appears to be entirely hand sewn.
When viewed at different angles, the fabric changes from a medium sky blue to a gold metallic shade. This must have been a very expensive fabric, and a treasured gown.
It has a 28 1/2" bust, 23 1/2" waist, it's 19 1/2" between the shoulder seams. It's 41" long in front, 42" in back.
Very good condition, with two approximately 8" long areas to the brocade with some slight staining, one is shown in a closeup below. Very light underarm discoloration, some slight wear to the fabric to the bodice, near the fasteners and close to the waist, also just below the waist, where the blue threads have worn away a little revealing the gold threads, this is minor, however. There is one small hole just below the waistband, one 1" area of pleating at the waist which needs restitching. There are 2 nickel sized, another dime-sized, areas of discoloration to the undersleeves on the brocaded sections of the fabric. One small tear to the skirt lining only.

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