Thursday, December 29, 2011

Turn of the Century White Summer Dress






From the seller:

Exquisite antique 1800's Victorian bustle back wedding dress. This stunning piece features the most beautiful handmade lace bodice front and back along with exceptional wide puffed sleeves with lace inserts and sleeve cuffs. Tiny tucks complete the dainty look of this Victorian bridal piece. Rows and rows of tucks along the lower skirt's ruffle with matching handmade lace inserts. Much lace work went into this early wedding fashion piece. I believe the fabric is a handkerchief linen. Peplum front with tiny tucks and lace inserts. beautiful lace insert waist. There are tiny lace covered buttons up the back as well as hook & eye closure. Many gathers in the rear to accomodate your wire cage bustle or bustle back hoop skirt frame....Be sure to view the frame i have up for auction this week...I love to save my winning bidders money with combined shipping!
The following flaws are noted: Lace damage right sleeve cuff that will need repair as well as small lace breaks shoulder area. There are some small rust colored age spots lower right skirt side as well as dirt marks along the hemline from sweeping the floor. There is some fabric wear right underarm and a tear mid back lower skirt by the hooks. There is also some slight fabric wear to the right of the beautiful lace buttons. There are some other tiny lace breaks and you will see some other very light age spots, but these were difficult to photograph as they are minor. I have tried to provide magnified photos below of the flaws and hope I have captured them all in great detail for viewing. Please remember these are magnified photos...this is still an absolutely amazing bustle back bridal gown!
It measures as follows:
Bust: 30 inches
Waist: 24 inches
Hips: full bustle back
Underarm to sleeve end: 14 inches
Underarm to hemline: 52 inches
Well worth the little restoration effort needed. For avid and serious antique clothing collectors and dealers this is a must have article of antique clothing.


From Me:

There isn't a bustle back and this most certainly was not for a wedding. Rather, the style of corset that would have been worn with this dress would have forced the upper torso forward and the lower torso back, giving that S-curve. The modern equivalent of this dress would be a nice white eyelet blouse <- not something you'd wear to a wedding but certainly something you'd wear to a nice lunch.

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