ORANGE 1890's Dress

From the seller:

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE MANY PICTURES OF THIS WONDERFUL GOWN. This is a fantastic Museum Quality Two Piece Victorian Bustle Gown Dress with Leg o Mutton Sleeves in a most gorgeous Copper Color Silk. This fabulous two piece gown is from an estate of a collector from Long Island and my guess is that the collector purchased this dress in and around the New York area. The dress itself was made for a wealthy individual and from the appearance was not worn very much. And the condition is appropriately excellent and beautiful. Fortunately it has been carefully maintained and stored. The photography was done outside in full sun so that all the details would show in the pictures. But the color to the eye is much darker and richer in person. The heavy weight fabric is a copper lustre silk satin that is just as crisp as the day it was made, strong and in excellent clean condition. The dress may have been worn once or twice if that. An expert dressmaker made this dress. The under arms have some light darkening to the silk (hard to see) with no deterioration or damage to the silk. In fact there is no staining to the interior lining in the same area. The bodice and the skirt have all the large hooks and eyes, the bodice is fully stayed and the seams edges are beautifully hand bound, the gold and copper bead trim have a few minor breaks and minor bead loss (the beads are four sided tubular shaped) done in a beautiful pattern trimming the neck, bodice front and the sleeves, there are no rips, tears or holes anywhere to the gown, and all the hooks and eyes are there attaching the skirt to the bodice. The skirt is fully lined in camel colored polished cotton. The lower 10" portion of the skirt hem has a stiffening fabric (very stiff) layered in between the lining and the copper color silk. The very bottom of the hem lining is bound with dark cinnamon color corduroy type fabric cut on the diagonal for added stiffness to the lower hem and meant for the skirt to stand away from the body for the correct silhouette. There are no holes, rips or tears to the lining either and the polished cotton is still nice and shiny and very crisp. All the skirt seams are bound in an overcast stitch. The skirt itself is very crisp and has a lot of "rustle" to it. The skirt hem has two rows of 3 1/2" ruffles ending the gored skirt panels. This dress has not been repaired or altered in any way and is just as the dressmaker designed it. The woman for whom this dress was made was petite. Please ask questions if I have not included something in the description that is important for you to know. I am not sure which decade of the 19th century this dress is from. Perhaps you could tell me. The measurements include:

Bust 31 1/2"

Waist 25 1/2"

Across from shoulder to shoulder in front 12 1/2"

Sleeve length 27 1/2"

Wrist opening 7 1/2"

Skirt Length 42 1/2"

Center front neck to waist 14 1/2"

Top of center back to waist 15 1/2"

Around neck 13"

Total length back neck to hem about 58"


From Me:

It's not a Bustle era dress (it looks like the seller tried to stick a pillow beneath the skirt and that's why the form of it looks all wonky), but a lovely 1890's dress.