Post American Civil War Dress

From the seller:

A shimmering 1865-1870 three piece taupe silk dress that comes from the Samuel Colt estate. Colt was the founder of Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing CO. He was married to Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt. This is possibly one of her dresses. The dress is consists of a Polonaise style over bodice, short over skirt and long under skirt. This is styled period dress was worn just before the full bustle back came into fashion. The overskirt has ties on the inside to create a small bustle affect. All of the pieces have self fabric pleated trim. The bodice is lined with silk and has a front button closure. The over skirt is unlined. The underskirt is fully lined. The dress is in good and sturdy condition. There is some light underarm discoloration, a couple of tiny holes on the sleeve and water spotting on the underskirt. (See photo.) The long polonaise bodice covers this when displayed. A beautiful display dress. Bust 34 Wait 24 Front skirt length 42 Back length 45.

From Me:

I'm thinking about 1866 for this one. The waistline is to normally placed for much later than that.

Late 1860's Ball Gown Bodice and Day Time Bodice Outfit

From the seller:

Old and authentic dress Napoleon III transformations.
The skirt has two tops (one day, the second ball) and various accessories (Polish, belt) for modifying the skirt in the circumstances.
All in very nice condition.
Only the blue silk prom corsage is worn.

From Me:

Something tells me they didn't have proms back in the mid 19th Century. Call me crazy.

1867

The above fashion plate is from 1867. Although the grey dress is much more trimmed, it also has similar lines to the extant one above. By the late 1860's, the dresses were really starting to go back and we see the beginnings of the bustle era. That is why the extant one looks so sad in the display - well, one of the reasons- it was meant to have a bustle back so that the hem was even to the floor.

The other reason is that the belt/overskirt was meant to go with the daytime bodice. Although I have seen fashion plates with the basque waist and the ball gown bodice, it was much more common to go with the daytime bodice.  It's probably the reason the basque waist and the bertha collar look so funny together.  

I wish the seller would have provided measurements.  I've noticed lately that a lot of sellers stopped doing that.  I think it's a reaction to all the numbskulls that want to wear these antique garments.   I'd prefer to see the measurements and have a re-enforcement that you do not wear things that are 150 years old.  Heck, even jewelry that old gets worn only for a few hours because of how delicate it is and that stuff is metal!

Natural Form Era Wedding Gown

From the seller:

A beautiful 1879 wedding gown that was worn by Mary Thaw on April 17th 1879 when she married William R. Thompson. Mary Thaw was the daughter of capitalist William Thaw. She graduated from Vassar College in 1877. Miss Thaw was the step sister of Harry Kendall Thaw who murdered the famous American architect Stanford White. The trial was referred to as “The Trial of the Century.” Thaw was married to chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit who after words was forever known as “The Girl On The Red Velvet Swing.” Included with the dress are two photos of the bride and a copy of a diary entry that was written by Miss Dorothea Thompson describing the wedding ceremony. All have been de-accessioned from a museum collection. The dress is made of ivory silk moiré and beige silk. The dress is designed in the Princess style and the label reads Jos. G. Darlington & CO. Philadelphia. The front of the dress is draped and made of beige silk. The dress has a very long back sweep. It is lined with cotton and has a front hook and eye closure. The wax flowers and separate high neck lace insert are original to the dress. The dress is in very good condition. There are no splits, holes or underarm discoloration. At some point in time the back train was turned up on the sides and this left soiling on both sides. It can easily be turned up again for display purposes. A magnificent display only dress with wonderful provenance. Bust 32 Waist 24 Front skirt length 41 Back length 74.

From Me:

Too terribly fabulous!

Tangzhuang Ladies Jacket In Blue

From the seller:

Simply AMAZING!! We found this and other items while doing some treasure hunting. I will be listing these amazing finds here on ebay for the next couple of days.

This jacket has two tie buttons on the front with two tight balls of silk as the buttons that are very much intact. The jacket is really blue in color with an array of different hand sewn silk flowers and different shapes thru out the item. The work on this is amazing to think one did this by hand. The item is real soft, silk, but the flowers and such are a different "spin" of silk, dealer/collector told me the facts on these items. The shirt is free from any damage besides some dirt/stains on mostly the inside of the jacket. The silk flowerets and shapes are very much intact with very minimal damage. This is truly a very rare and treasured item, it is amazing in workmanship and the condition being 100 years old!!

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed seeing these rare and beautiful finds! It is amazing that all this was done by hands long ago!!

From Me:

The easiest way to date this for Western eyes is by looking at that gold rose trim around the edges. :-) This is Late Qing Dynasty or, in Western timing, Edwardian. You can read a bit about the Tangzhuang through the link. I'm honestly surprised this survived - many, many things associated with traditional Chinese culture were destroyed in the revolution.

The gentleman in the center left has a similar jacket on.

1880's Simple Tea Gown/Wrapper

From the Seller:

THIS IS AN AUTHENTIC VICTORIAN 1890S MORNING ,TEA GOWN/ WRAPPER.

I BELIEVE THIS DRESS IS MADE OF A VERY PALE SHADE OF BLUE MUSLIN DIMITY IN A MEDIUM WEIGHT . THE FABRIC HAS A DARK GREY LINED STITCH PATTERN.

THE DRESS HAS A SMALL COLLAR AND 4 MOTHER OF PEARL BUTTONS UP THE FRONT BODICE. THERE IS A LARGE FLAT PLEAT ON EACH SHOULDER FRONT AND THE INSIDE BACK OF THE BODICE IS LINED WTIH WHITE MUSLIN.

THE SLEEVES ARE LONG AND HAVE BUTTONED CUFFS .

THE BACK HAS STRUCTURED SEAMS THAT CURVE INTO THE WAIST AND FLARE OUT. WHERE THE CENTER BACK SEAM ENDS AT LOW WAIST IT HAS A HIDDEN GATHERED TUCK THAT GIVE THE SKIRT A VERY FULL BACK AND SWEEPING HEMLINE .

THIS STYLE OF DRESS WAS MEANT TO BE WORN LOOSLY IN THE MORNING BEFORE BEING CORSETED AND FULLY DRESSED . IT IS MEANT TO BE COMFORTABLE.

THE CONDITION IS NICE AND VERY WEARABLE . IT DOES HAVE A FEW THINGS TO MENTION: THERE ARE A FEW SMALL RUST COLORED SPOTS THE LARGEST ON THE TOP LEFT SHOULDER/ THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SMALL HOLES IN THE SKIRT BACK/

THE DRESS HAS NO REAL DEFINED MEASUREMENTS EXCEPT THE SHOULDERS IN BACK ARE 14' ACROSS FROM INSIDE SEAM TO INSIDE SEAM/ 36" BUST ROUGHLY/ AND THE WAIST IS 28-38" . THE LENGTH IS 53" FRONT AND 57" BACK.

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT MY LISTING. I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND INQUIRIES.



From Me:

Okay, so....not 1890's but 1880's (fullness in the backside not in the shoulders). You would have still had a corset but it wouldn't have been fully laced up very tight. To put this dress is perspective - this is what the People of Walmart in the 19th Century would have worn. ...Which, after seeing the braless wonder at the rental car checkout line, I would have LOVED to have seen something like this.