Sunday, August 27, 2017

Edwardian Print Dress

From the seller:

This would make a great addition to your antique Victorian clothing collection! Sweet delicate lightweight silk print with roses and robin egg blue printed design.
Bodice has beautiful lace yolk and elbow length puffed sleeves. Sewn gathers at waist.
There are no stays in this dress. Bodice is lined in soft muslin with hand worked buttonholes.
All nine mother-of-pearl buttons are present on lining in bodice. buttons are present on lining in bodice.
Back of bodice is fastened with hook-&-eyes on outer layer. Lower edge is unfinished, to be tucked in.
this dress is in excellent shape with one two small pea size holes on top of the shoulder sleeves. they do not show because the fall into the pleats. easy fix.
Underarm bust measurement is 36 inches. Waist is 25 inches.
Front of skirt to hem measures 39 inches. Back skirt to hem measures 42 1/2 inches.
Waistline is 24 inches.
Hemline is in good condition. Three rows of ruffles decorate lower skirt.
Lower edge of skirt measures 142 inches around.
Sold As Is
Color of item may be slightly off from what you see.
I am human and therefore I may have missed minor flaws.
These are Antique clothing items. there will or could be rips, holes, stains snags, odors, hem lines coming lose. unseen flaws. you might even get a moth... I will do my best to point these out.
Measurements are amateur.


From Me:

The waist should be tucked in...not out like a peplum. I like that this one was most likely homemade and you can tell on the inside of the bodice/blouse.  And yes, no bustle - it looks ridiculous with the skirt and you can see the hem isn't even at all with the bustle in one of the pictures. 

1905 Fashion Plate

The sleeve style was popular around 1905 and the pigeon front was still popular then as well. I think this dress would look lovely with a simple matching colored belt or waist to offset the skirt and blouse.

Edwardian Day Dress with updates in the mid 20th C


From the seller:

ANTIQUE DRESS VICTORIAN c1900 FANCY SHEER TEA SUMMER GARDEN DAY DRESS GOWN


Presenting a Victorian off white light weight sheer batiste cotton tea gown garden summer dress dating to the late 19thc early 1900's. One piece in construction.
Back button and hook and eye closure, lovely machine lace neckline and with a stand-up stayed high neck lace
 collar, stays in bodice, pintucks galore on sleeves and neck.   
The front bodice has a off white light ecru machine embroidered lace front that extends down skirt front center to the hem line. with long curved lace sleeves. Accented at waist with 2 large rosettes.


The bodice back has a extensive hook/eye closure.
 Skirt has hook and eye closure at back. Dress has a full silk lining that has shredded. Skirt has a small train in back.



Condition:  In good antique condition with age related flaws.  Small oxidation storage spot in front of dress by rosettes.   Overall the dress has a few pin size oxidation spots scattered about. These will all soak out with its first soak. There is NO underarm discoloration.  Silk lining is in poor shredding unstable condition.  With some loose hook and eyes in back closure.
This dress has very few imperfections consistent with it's age.


 
MEASUREMENTS

 BODICE: Bust 30",
Waist 23",
Sleeve length 23",
Across back of shoulders 13",
Neck circumference 11"
Front length from shoulder to hem 56", Back length from shoulder to hem 66", .

A lovely addition to one's collection. Would make a wonderful romantic wedding dress.


From Me:

NoNoNoNoNo! We do not wear antique clothing unless you like destroying old things, ruining the possibilities of learning from them for future generations, and you like being pretty much in naked ruins in an hour.

The rosettes threw me off on this dress - I believe they were placed there much later in the mid 20th c to cover up the spots; ie, they didn't cause the spots. I almost thought it was a remake until I saw the back detail and realized that it was just the rosettes that had been placed on the dress, not the entire dress being constructed of older pieces later on.

1909 Fashion Plate

That being said, I do think this was an early Edwardian that was remade at the end of the Edwardian era to follow the latest fashions. The sleeve puffs are just a bit too 1902/1903 versus the 1909 sleeves. Being remade would also explain some of the weirdness of the trim not exactly meeting up. The skirt had a lot of it's fullness taken out. It also might have been remade for a teenager from one of her mom's old dresses.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Anne of Green Gables would love this dress


From the seller:

Treat yourself 

to this astonishing *rare* plum silk dress  c. 1890-1900 

...love the blue chiffon collar & 'cuffs'...with tiny white roses 

Due to it's vibrant colors & whimsical feel, it might have been for an adolescent girl 

In overall * good * condition

Plum silk fabric is strong...the lining of the skirt IS shredding [ pic 10, 11]
There are scattered stains [ most prominent R. side front skirt [ pic 7 ]
A few pinholes...some fading of the midnight blue trim, R. sleeve only [ pic 8 ] 
some underarm discoloration [ doesn't show when on ]

I have never seen a dress like it **  worth the TLC !

Measurements [ lying flat ] 

underarm-underarm: 17"  waist: 14"   length: 43" 

Enjoy !  


From Me:

The bust is 34" with a 28" waist - not bad! Given the overall length, I agree that this was for a teenager and not a grown woman. I absolutely adore the colors. As for the decade, it's interesting. The dress looks like it was remade from a much older style. If you look at the inside upper collar, you can see the hand stitching pretty easily. The sleeve style, once you take away the blue lace, is dead on for the 1830's. The waist seems more 1830's too. It's the addition of the lace and a few other changes that make it more late 1890's. I can see a young girl taking her grandma's dress and remaking it for a party - think Anne of Green Gables taking one of Marilla and Matthew's Mom's dresses to remake with "puff" sleeves using left over lace from one of Diana's dresses.

I'm thinking something more like this originally but with a higher neckline (like this one that someone in the 1890's added lace to and called it a day.

And yes, I'm back from Pennsic. ...However, I'm moving! So, until the end of the year, things will be...hectic to say the least!