Mid 1860's Plaid Dress

From the seller:

A fetching 1860’s Civil War era bronze plaid silk dress. The bishop styled sleeves are trimmed with pleated black silk. The bodice is lined with cotton and has a front hook and eye closure. Some of the hooks and eyes are missing. The neck and armscyes are piped. The skirt is attached to the waist with flat pleating. The skirt is fully lined with cotton. The dress is in good display condition. There are sections of missing fabric under each arm. (See photo.) There are a few scattered small stress marks in the fabric mostly around the neck and shoulder area. There is a 2 ½ inc split near the skirt hemline. The black silk trim is loose in some places and will need minor re-stitching. Bust 32 Waist 26 Skirt length 42 Width at hemline 135.

From Me:

1865 Fashion Plate

Although the blue dress on the far left is way more decorated than the plaid extant dress above, the trim placement on the sleeves is the same. Putting trim or other decoration on the back of the sleeve became a thing around late 1864 and stayed into the early Bustle Era. Based on the waistline of this dress, I'm thinking it's just post American Civil War - 1865/1866.