Sunday, November 23, 2014

Perfect Thanksgiving American Civil War Era Dress

From the seller:

A stunning 1860’s Civil War era cocoa brown silk brocade dress. The fabric has a large leaf and tiny floral spray pattern. The bodice has pagoda styled sleeves and a short cap over sleeve. They are each trimmed with two rows of brown and black silk ribbon. The neck, waist and armscyes are piped. The bodice still retains its original lace collar. The bodice is lined with tan linen and the lining has a front hook and eye closure. The outer silk fabric has a front button closure. There is one missing button. The skirt is attached to the waist with cartridge pleating. It is unlined. The dress is in very good and sturdy condition. There is a small area of light underarm discoloration and a couple of small pea size holes in the skirt. There is a 4 inch fade mark on the side of the skirt. (See photo.). The close up photo of the bodice shows a couple of spots that are caused by the camera flash and are no present on the bodice. A beautiful display ONLY dress. Bust 32 Waist 22 Skirt length 39 Width at hemline 144.

From Me:

...I want to wear something like this to my sister in law's for Thanksgiving....

The slope of the shoulders makes me think this is another 1850's redone in the early 1860's dress.

5 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I don't normally like brown but this is a rather warm shade. The red/burgundy trim really makes it.

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  2. That fabric is fantastic! Sigh, I really wish I had more opportunities to wear my 1860s stuff. I think it's the most underused of all my historic clothing.
    -Emily

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    Replies
    1. We have tons of opportunities here - but I live in Maryland and Virginia is just a quick drive around the Beltway. Throw a stone and you'll probably hit a Civil War site! (True story: When I was teaching my youngest brother how to be an archeologist, he dug a "test pit" in the backyard of my parents' home in Maryland. About 1" down, no matter where he dug, there was a charcoal layer. Turns out, back in the Civil War, the entire wooded area was raised and burned so that they could see any enemy advancing towards the fort - which is a mile away. So yeah, throw a stone...)
      Still, I don't get to wear my 1860's more than twice a year unless I want to go to the Civil War re-enactments and I really just don't want to go to those.

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