Velvet Bustle Era Dress

From the seller:

1880's Golden Velvet Bustle Gown: This bustle dress from the 1880's reminds me of an antique velvet teddy bear that is worn with love. The dress has quite a lot of wear to the velvet nap and has been patched under the arms multiple times to augment its life. The skirt has a waist of 24 and a skirt length of 37. The waist band is very worn in places. See photos. It will need to be replaced. The cartridge pleatiing and the other gathered areas are still intact so it will make the waist band easier to rework. The easiest thing to do would be to make a new waist band and hand sew it over the old one. There is some fraying around the bottom of the skirt. The drape on one side needs to be tacked down firmly in place. It is hanging by a few threads right now. I took a photo of the back part of the skirt so that you could see the holes in the lining at the top that will need to be patched. The bodice has a waist of 22, shoulders of 12 and a bust of 29. There is a 1.5 inch notch (tear) in the right sleeve. The seam on the back of the sleeve is letting loose. There are three missing buttons and three buttons that are on the bodice that don't match the original buttons which are dyed mother of pearl. The dress is a little dusty from age. I purchased it on ebay so long ago that I don't remember what I paid for it. I had intended to fix it but never got around to it. It makes a nice display. If you added a black 1880's mantel with the dress it would be quite charming and would hide all of the wear at the top of the bodice.

From Me:

Despite the wear, this is still a lovely dress.