It’s Hand Sewing Time, and I’m enjoying a little peace while finishing this gown in the style of 1903.
Day Dress
And Now For Some More Directoire Style…
One of the more interesting styles of the late 1880s/early 1890s was the Directoire. In an earlier post, we gave some details about this fascinating style so today, we’re going to add a bit more. 🙂 The key elements of the Directoire style, as applied to the late Nineteenth Century, were jackets with wide lapels combined with simple, mostly un-trained skirts. Also, closely aligned was the redingote style and both were often combined as seen with this example:
One of the most eye-catching features of Directoire style were the lapels/revers. Here’s a few more interesting examples that we’ve recently come across:
In the above example from the October 1892 issue of La Revue de la Mode, we see a set of very wide, pointed lapels on a jacket with a diagonally cut front that calls away to reveal a white waist or pseudo-waist. The striped skirt offers an interesting contrast and the whole effect is a geometrical collection of straight lines going in a variety of directions. Along the same lines is this style on the left illustrated in an 1892 fashion plate from La Mode Française:
In terms of style, with its long revers and overall length, this one leans more towards a Louis XVI style but still overlaps somewhat in that the jacket is clearly mean to be worn open, displaying an ornately trimmed waistcoat (or pseudo waistcoat), complemented by the embroidered trim on both revers. Elaborate decorative designs were a characteristic of Directoire style, especially with the larger lapels that provided the perfect “canvas” as with this illustration from the March 1899 issue of The Delineator:
Both of these outfits are amazing and a bit over-the-top. The left dress features an elegant coat with elaborate decorative patterns that were no doubt, done in silver and jet beading (or some combination thereof). Although the fabric is not specified here, we envision a black silk velvet . The pale blue skirt offers an interesting color contrast with its white floral applique pattern running along the hem. The perfect outfit for Spring. The outfit on the right is a bit more dramatic with its burnt orange jacket combined with a green skirt with a vertical soutache pattern running down the front. The contrast colors make for a harmonious package that sets the stage for the dramatic striped patterns on the lapels and collar; these definitely catch the eye and direct focus towards the wearer’s face. We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into one of the more interesting styles of the 1890s and we’ll be featuring more in future posts. 🙂
And Now Back To The 70s…The 1870s, That Is…
For a little change of pace, we’re diving back some 20 years to the 1870s today with a look at probably one of the best extant examples of a mid-1870s day dress that we’ve ever seen in a museum collection, this circa 1875-1896 day dress from the Goldstein Museum of Design:
Day Dress, c. 1875-1876; Goldstein Museum of Design/University of Minnesota(1971.002.001a-c)
The bodice back has a large v-shaped inset in the solid mint green fabric, also trimmed with the striped green ruching.
From this view, one can get a good look at the train.
The photography for this dress is excellent- they’ve captured every angle and nuance precisely. And here’s a good side profile view:
This dress is constructed from a combination of green striped silk taffeta combined with solid mint green silk taffeta on the front and upper bodice and striped trimming along the hems, arms, and bodice edges. The silhouette is mid-1870s with a more restrained train and bustle that gives shape but at the same time is more structured than what was characteristic of the early 1870s. One interesting thing to note is that the green striped taffeta is cut on the grain for the bodice, sleeves, and a good part of the skirts but for the hem trimmings, they’re cut on the bias. This was fairly standard practice but with the striped fabric, it’s very apparent. Now for some detail pictures of the neck and shoulders:
The front and upper bodice are of solid mint-green silk taffeta framed by ruching in the stripped taffeta. Here’s an extreme close-up of the front upper bodice showing cut steel buttons and hand-stitched buttonholes:
The collar is a low mandarin collar and matches the bodice front. Now here’s one of the upper shoulders with various trim treatments. The sleeves are trimmed with solid green stripes framed with ruching from the striped green taffeta.
And some more details, first from the upper rear:
And the back without the draped overskirt:
And a view from the inside of the underskirt:
And here’s a rear view of just the underskirt:
And finally, something that’s often absent from museum displays, details of the underpinnings that go a long way towards proper dress presentation. Often these details are overlooked and the garments are not displayed to their best advantage.
We are absolutely amazed with the detail and thoroughness of the photographic documentation for this dress and it seems to overlook nothing. In terms of recreating this dress, this vastly simplifies the process. Aesthetically, this dress is definitely more middle class than haute couture and that’s perfectly fine. 🙂 It’s representative of a woman’s “best dress” of the era that would serve excellently for a variety of social occasions.
Today’s 1890s Fashion Feature…
Today’s 1890s style is a skirt and waist combination that was featured in an 1896 edition of La Mode Pratique:
Roughly translated, the description reads:
The skirt is a very dark purple Liberty velvet. The silk blouse is a water- green brocaded silk blouse with soft pink designs.; Water green brocaded. A light light lace imitating point d’Angleterre (English lace)1A bobbin lace of English origin.; velvet collar and belt.
What is most notable is that we’re seeing a very refined version of the waist and skirt combination style that was becoming extremely popular during the 1890s. While originally intended as practical garments for everyday wear, the style illustrated above takes the style further with the skirt made from a violet silk velvet, presumably obtained from Liberty London. The waist is a water green silk brocade with what appears to be a soft pink colored floral design. To establish a better of idea of “water green,” here’s a picture of some silk habotai in that color, subject to the differences in color that can arise from computer imagery:
The above style is the perfect demonstration of how what was originally meant as a simple practical outfit has now been elevated into something more high fashion. This elevating process has been a constant element in the evolution of fashion both during the late Nineteenth Century and today. Probably the best example today is how jeans were transformed from simple practical pants that were intended for manual laborers has now been elevated into high fashion, and on some occasions, haute couture. We hope you have found this to be as inspiring to you as it’s been for us. 🙂
Afternoon Or Evening, Worth Has You Covered…
One interesting sub-styles popularized by Charles Worth was the combination day and evening dress consisting of a base skirt and two separate bodices for day and night wear. Here’s one example of this style that was created by Worth circa 1885-1890 in a combination afternoon and reception dress.1The terms “afternoon dress,” “day dress,” and “reception dress” were often used interchangeably by fashion commentators and museum curators. The important determiner was whether a dress was meant for daytime wear or evening wear. Also, the degree of formality of the occasion also played a role. First we see the dress withe the afternoon bodice:
Worth, Afternoon Dress (combination day/night), c. 1885-1890; Palais Galliera
And now the dress with the reception bodice:
Worth, Evening Dress (combination day/night), c. 1885-1890; Palais Galliera
Here’s a three-quarter rear view of the dress with the reception bodice:
Here’s a close frontal view of the reception bodice:
Essentially, dresses meant for evening wear tended to have bodices with lower necklines and minimal sleeves with more exposure of the arms.2Ball gowns were usually the most extreme in this regard. In terms of silhouette, this dress has a high probability of dating from the later 1880s, having a fuller train than what you would see in the early 1890s and it’s definitely outside of the earlier Mid-Bustle Era styles. Also, it’s highly likely that the original wearer of the dress would have been wearing a more pronounced bustle that what was used to stage this dress for museum display and the train would have been more fully extended.
Continuing on, the dress’ underskirt and bodice fronts are constructed from white colored silk satin or taffeta, and the overskirt and bodices of purple silk satin or taffeta. The bodice fronts are both decorated with silver metallic trim and spangles to create a vertical floral design that draws the eye to the center of the dress and up. The white underskirt also has the same trim pattern running along the sides and along the hem. In the middle of the underskirt appears to be a series of pleated insets, trimmed in a silver embroidery pattern. On the reception bodice, the sleeve tops are also trimmed in white silk chiffon with the same silver metallic trim as what is on the bodice front. On the afternoon bodice, the sleeves are in purple and the cuffs feature white chiffon and same metallic trim seen on the bodice front.
This is an interesting design in that the dress has been styles and decorated so that it’s suitable for both formal afternoon occasions as well as evening affairs while the bodices are different enough to suitably establish the dress for either time. The ensemble is a complete harmonious package that’s a testament to Worth as a designer.