Fashion History

And Now For An 1890s Velvet Walking Suit…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Velvet was a go-to fabric for many late 19th Century designs and sometimes it could be taken to extremes as with this circa 1897-1900 walking suit:

Walking Suit, c. 1897-1900; Galliera Musée de la Mode

This is an interesting outfit on several levels. First, it would appear that this is a walking suit of sorts with a long fitted jacket that’s more characteristic of the 1908-1912 time frame while at the same time, the upper sleeves read more late 1890s. From a silhouette perspective, we see the nipped waist characteristic of the 1890s combined with a multi-gored skirt. Unfortunately, we don’t have a frontal view of this garment so we can only guess at what’s going on but based on other examples, it’s most likely that there would have been some sort of real or faux waistcoat/waist combination. Finally, to complete the style, the cuffs are also decorated with a scaled down version of the flame pattern

This most notable feature of this suit is the use of magenta-colored silk velvet on a major scale- both the skirt and bodice/jacket use it on lavishly to the point where it appears that the suit is almost entirely velvet with accents of a lighter shade of magenta-colored fabric- perhaps wool or a silk faille. Even more compelling is that the entire lower part of the skirt is covered in velvet, tapering off in a series of flame or tentacle-like tips in the middle. The overall effect is dramatic, especially since the decorative scheme on the jacket/bodice is similar but reversed with the flames/tentacles going downwards and made from the lighter fabric. Finally, a word about color- this is one of the better examples of the use of saturated jewel tone colors, in this case two shades of magenta and effect is just stunning.

Unfortunately, on a practical level, we also realize that the fabrics and colors read “winter” and as a practical matter, replicating a walking suit similar to this wouldn’t work for us here in the American Southwest. But it would be perfect for a trip to the British Isles… 🙂


Some Late 1880s Daytime Style…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

As seen in a recent post, velvet was often used as an accent both in terms of the fabric itself and the rich colors it could hold. Today we take this theme a bit further with this late 1880s day dress:

Day Dress, c. 1880; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.40.181a, b)

This dress is constructed from a medium brown silk faille with dark brown velvet panels on the front and sides of the skirt as well as panels on the bodice front. Also, one can see with the bodice that it’s been constructed to give the appearance of having an open v-neck with a faux velvet waist (it’s all actually a one-piece construction). Further decorating the bodice front, shoulders and cuffs in metallic gold filigree.

For dating the dress, although this has been labeled as being from circa 1880, we believe it was constructed during sometime in the 1888 to 1890 time frame based on the silhouette. In contrast with earlier 1880s dresses, this one’s silhouette is more moderate suggesting that the large bustle trend was beginning to taper off. Of course, it could also be the museum staging but we seriously doubt it.

Compared to the front, the back is plain and unadorned, suggesting that this was more of a mid-range dress than haute couture. This dress is interesting in that darker velvet combines nicely with the lighter brown silk faille. Darker colored velvet tend to absorb light but the gold filigree neatly counters this, thus creating a backdrop that only enhances the luster of the gold filigree decoration. One of the things that makes Victorian Era fashions so interesting is the seemingly endless unique design variations that one finds and it’s a constant source of inspiration to us.


Working With An Original…

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

There are some issues that no restoration can cure. Today, this lady gets photographed for the last time, the silk satin of the skirt is shattering and I want to preserve as much of the embroidery and beadwork as possible.


Something From The Collection…

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Check out how this 1898 British designer chose to conceal the hand worked eyelets…I am currently lifting a pattern and taking notes from this beauty in our collection.

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And Something New From Maison Pingat…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

We don’t normally associate Emile Pingat with more casual designs such as tea gowns and morning dresses but that’s not always the case. Recently, we came across this interesting 1890s era example that was on an auction website:  🙂

Pingat, Tea Gown, c. 1890s; Whitaker Auctions

This dress is constructed from cream-colored wool trimmed with ivory lace at the sleeve cuffs and neck. The dress is also trimmed in a floral pattern constructed from soutache cord appliques mounted on linen running along the hem, neck, and dress front.

This dress has a silhouette that approximates the quintessential 1890s x-silhouette yet the lines are more loose and free-flowing, aided by the princess line style. This dress reads “tea gown” although it would also work for a house or morning dress; in any event, this was probably a bit too casual for going outside of the house and was intended for wear at home. As we’ve commented on other tea gowns, Pingat has taken what was meant to be a simple style and upgraded into more of a couture gown. Here’s some close-up views:

This close-up view from the rear shows the princess line seamwork although there are waist lines on the side pieces- whether these are simply stitch lines or actual seams is hard to determine from the picture but either way, the dress reads princess line. The sleeves are elbow length and have moderate poufs on the sleeve caps- based on the sleeve caps, we’d be willing to estimate that this was garment was made something in the 1893-1894 time frame but this is just an estimate on our part.1Unfortunately, like most auction website listings, the dating is very vague and in this case, it just stated that it was “1890s” which is not very helpful.

The above lace collar extends up the neck and is topped off by a row of tiny silk flowers. Also, the pictures above and below show excellent close-up views of the applique decorative design and in many respects it’s reminiscent of trapunto.

The dress was front opening and concealed by this elaborately worked placket consisting of raised appliques worked in a floral pattern designed to mimic a vine with flowers. It’s a very cleaver design solution and keeps the rest of the dress lines clean, unfettered by the need for an opening.

And here we seen Pingat’s label stamped into the petersham, something that was very common for couture houses to do. The petersham was intended as a way to control the dress and keep it firmly attached at the waist. With this tea gown, we see a design is simple and elegant, embodying the oft-quoted idea of “less is more;” it’s definitely that. With dress’s simple, clean lines acting as a canvas for the restrained decorative scheme, and it all harmonizes together nicely.