Saturday, January 18, 2014

Very Neat 1890's Bodice












From the seller:

This is an outstanding piece of original Victorian clothing.

Size Small to Extra Small.

Circa 1890s, excellent condition.

Dark gray, brown & cream colored.

The gray is pretty similar to the color of this text.

In some of the photos the color appears blue, but it is in fact dark gray.

The lining is a light brown color cotton.

Lots of hand-stitching.

Body is grosgrain faille fabric.

Brown velvet at wrists, collar & front waist

Jacquard or brocade cream & gray trim down front & back center, and at wrists.

2" high collar

inner suede coin or watch pocket (visible in photo #9)

boning

cream color trim at throat & wrists

slightly puffy shoulders

Snaps down the front with 29 ! original hook & eye closures, alternating direction.

(One hooks to right, the next hooks to the left, etc.)

Clean - no stains anywhere!

No rips or tears that I can find, EXCEPT a 1/2" tear to the interior lining near a hook/eye at the waist.

I am calling this a bustle bodice because of the tail & front extension that I believe were designed to go over the top of a bustle.

Also, there are 2 larger interior hooks where a bustle would be attached.

However, I am not an expert in Victorian clothing, and this may just be a simple bodice to be worn with a skirt & no bustle.

11" across the back of the shoulders, measured from where the arms are attached.

Armpit to armpit measurement in back is 14".


Sleeve length - 17" from armpit to wrist.

Ribcage, measured under arms - approx. 28"

Waist is approximately 25".

2"-high stiff collar measures about 15" around when closed.


Length is about 16" - 17"from shoulder seam just next to collar to bottom of waist, not including "tail,

which extends another 6" or so.

Overall length measured in back, from top of collar to tip of tail, is almost 23".

I do not know what the cream-colored trim material at throat & wrists is called, it is unusual.

I've tried to show it in the photos, please examine them closely.

Because of the boning, this will have to be shipped flat.


From Me:

This *could* be from either the early '90's or the late '90's based on the sleeves. I believe it's more towards circa 1898. What I *adore* about this is that it's an ingenious way to hide the fact you ran out of fabric. The cuffs on the sleeves are nice but the way the waist is constructed - from the brown cotton to the swiss like waist- shows how much construction thought went into this piece and how she really just didn't have quite enough fabric to go without the velvet "patches". Very cool and I'm sure my fellow steampunkers will *love* this. :-)

1 comment:

  1. This bodice is wonderful!!!!! Another addition to my "I wanna make it!" list. :-)

    ReplyDelete