American Civil War Era Bodice

From the seller:

A beautiful 1860’s taupe and white plaid silk wedding bodice. The bodice was originally part of a wedding dress that was worn by L.L. Lawrence in Jan. 1863. The bodice comes with an old handwritten note. The bodice has full pagoda styled sleeves. The bodice is embellished with forest green pleated silk trim on the front opening, sleeves and center back peplum. The trim is held in place with white silk bands. The back peplum is also trimmed with decorative buttons. The inside of the sleeves are lined with white silk and trimmed with white silk trim. The trim is held in place with black velvet bands. The bodice is in very good and sturdy condition. There are a few tiny holes in the shoulder area and underarm discoloration on the inside lining only. There are a few missing buttons on the front. Bust 31 ½ Waist 22.

From Me:

1862 Fashion Plate

The trim on the bodice is meant to mimic the bodice in the fashion plate. This style was very popular in 1862/1863.  Those that do Civil War re-enacting?  This is a great bodice to recreate.

Remade 1850's into 1860's Plaid Dress

From the seller:

Rare 1860's Warp Print Gown Owned By Tasha Tudor: Woman's graceful Antibellum gown of brown silk plaid with stripes of green warp printing. Rounded collarless neckline, full huge sleeves with double flounce and fringe trim, Full pleated skirt and front hook closure. From the collection of Tasha Tudor and won at auction. Tasha Tudor lent her original gowns to the colonial Williamsburg foundation as well as he used them in her artwork for her books. The provenance and paperwork comes with the gown. In good condition with some lining issues, and numerous small holes on the skirt which is not unusual for a warp print. There is a small 1" by 2" L shaped tear in the skirt.

From Me:

"Antibellum"? /facepalm First antebellum is Latin for "before the war" - ante means before and bellum means war. Therefore anything before 1861 is normally considered to be antebellum and it's normally used on items from the 1850's. Something from the 1860's would not be antebellum. Second, it's antebellum. Antibellum would better be used to describe the 1960's than the 1860's as anti is Latin for against. We use anti still everyday and it's pretty easy to figure out - antibiotics means against biotics or bacteria in this case. You probably hear antiestablishment a lot in the news - against the establishment, normally the government.

Since this dress was remade during the American Civil War - look at the waistline and the number of pleats on the back versus the front of the dress- it is neither antibellum or antebellum.  Although, it was originally made in the antebellum period.  

1857 Fashion Plate (antebellum)

Notice the double sleeve on the black and blue dress.  You see this on a number of pagoda sleeves in the 1850's.  

1864 Fashion Plate

The waistline and the pleats of the extant dress match more to the cream and white dress in the fashion plate above.

Sweet Early 1880's Summer Dress

From the seller:

A charming 1880’s embroidered muslin bustle summer dress. The fabric has an overall small white leaf pattern. The bodice is trimmed with lace on the hemline and sleeve cuffs. The bodice is partly lined with cotton. The sleeves are unlined. It has a front button closure. The bustle skirt has a lace trimmed apron draped front panel. The bottom hemline has four ruffles. The skirt is unlined. The dress is in good and clean condition. There are mends on the lower edge of the sleeves and a thumb size hole in the back bustled area. Bust 30 Waist 22 Skirt length 39 ½.

From Me:

1883 Fashion Plate

1883 Fashion Plate

The extant dress, to me, looks like a combo of the wedding gown in the first fashion plate and the blue and white striped dress in the second one. There isn't enough "junk in the trunk" for the later bustle gowns but there is still more to the backside than the Natural Form gowns. This is why I believe this one is from about 1883.

Turn of the Century Women's Gingham Bathing Suit

From the seller:

Edwardian 1900’s two piece ladies’ bathing suit. Black and cream check cotton flannel with black and gray cotton faille contrasting trim. Dress – High V-neck. Fitted at waist with pleats at waistband. Full skirt with stitched down pleats. Short puff sleeves with stitched down pleat and point at hem. Contrasting banded trim at neckline, applied waistband, applied sleeve & hem bands. Five celluloid black and ivorine buttons front, two self covered buttons back. Center back hook & eye closure. Full pleated bloomers – Button front. Inverted pleats center back waist. Swim dress is 1900’s vintage, NOT a costume or reproduction.

Approximate Measurements:
Dress
Bust – 37”
Sleeve, measured from seam to edge – 9 1/2”
Shoulder, measured from seam to seam across back yoke – 15 1/2”
Waist – 29”
Hip – 44”
Back length, measured from neck edge to bottom cuff edge – 44”
Bloomers
Waist – 28”
Back length, measured from waist seam to edge – 27 1/2”

Condition:
Over all very good condition with light wear consistent with garment of this age and use. Dress shows soil mark at shoulder, discolor throughout and faded trim, mix and match hook & eyes. Period repair at center back waist. Bloomers show some light discolor, a few minor repairs and a missing button. Comes from smoke free environment.


From Me:

I think the main swimsuit is slightly earlier than the seller believes just because of the sleeves.

1899 Fashion Plate

Both this and the burgundy/brown one are from the very late 1890's. The black and white striped one is probably from the late 1910's.

Edwardian Tea Gown

From the seller:

legant couture 1860’s Civil War Ball gown over coat in amazing condition. French Pastel cream watered silk fabric with pink Roses. Embellished with the best carved Mother of Pearl buttons, front and back. A sewing masterpiece with front and back rows of gorgeous ruching, and also on the sleeve armyces intense cartridge pleating. Aside from a few tiny hold to light pinholes and a little seam opening in the back it is in excellent condition. No stains, ripping, tears or real holes. This is due to the fabric pre dating when metal was added to the silk, causing shattering from the weight. This is extremely well preserved, museum worthy. It will need to be steamed, otherwise fine quality condition. The solid cream silk inner lining has some splits, but this is only on the inside. Bust 40, waist 26/27, front length 50 back 49. Measurements are approximate. Absolutely no returns due to design copy theft. Thanks for understanding this before you buy : )

From Me:

0_o? No returns due to design copy theft? I mean, I understand no returns but this isn't exactly the seller's copyrighted work unless the seller is one of the oldest people in the world.

1907 Examples of Tea Gowns from Butterick

This extant one is most similar to the design on the upper left but with a fitted back like the one on the bottom left.  I really adore the fabric and it's clearly a late 19th century/early 20th century fabric as the water roses were most popular then.

It looks like the tea gown was being re-worked - or was taken apart to be used in other projects.  Still, what we have left is stunning - and very much not American Civil War era.  I'm holding out hope that the seller just put that in there for keyword clicks and not because they actually think it's from the 1860's.