Sunday, March 6, 2016

Early 1910's Dinner Dress


From the seller:

This fine dress was in a trunk full of clothes from the 1870's through 1920 that was packed away in a local plantation house for a long long time. Please see my other items for a few more. As the pictures show, this is a fancy fine party dress. I'm guessing it's from maybe 1910-20. If I'm wrong, please let me know. There are a few age related issues, of course. The black mesh sash on the left shoulder is losing it's beadwork (which is quite heavy) at the bottom. This can probably be sewn back together. There are also some areas of discoloration where that beadwork was against the velvet for so long. This can maybe be fixed with a bit of black dye. The few people I've shown this to all have said "OH, Downton Abbey!" There are a bunch of layers and tiny hooks that fasten on the back. One would require assistance to don this thing. I cannot find any identifying tags on it that would tell who made or owned it. But check out that beadwork on the front and back!

added 2/21/16--- laid flat, the dress measures 16 inches across at the bust, 12 inches across at the waist, and 18 inches at the hips. I also added a picture of the area on the lower left rear where the beadwork at the bottom of the sash reacted with the velvet. The bright circular object is a very overexposed quarter to show the scale. I think that this area could be touched up with black dye.


From Me:

This is really still quite beautiful. The lace and embroidery with the black velvet mix together well.

1911 Fashion Plate

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