Proof that I cut it really close! Extant textiles are a savage gamble to use….no mistakes allowed. Photo shoot tomorrow, I’ve been hand finishing this for twelve hours straight.
And a Little More of the 1890s Long Cape…
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Project: Circa 1884 Evening Dress- Part 1
We thought that we’d start out 2022 with a discussion about our last project: a circa 1884-inspired evening dress. This was a fabulous project for us in that we were able to utilize just about every couture sewing technique in the construction and utilizing authentic materials, and trims. The project began with the client coming to us wanting a circa 1880s ballgown that would have no train and a yellow color theme. Beyond this, the client pretty much gave us carte blanche in our design choices. So where to begin? Well, we turned to Harper’s Bazar, one of our major go-to sources for late 19th Century fashion when we need inspiration and in particular, Victorian Fashions & Costumes from Harper’s Bazar 1867-1898:
Basically, we focused on the right cover image as our starting point. As you can see, the book has gotten a lot of wear over the years and is now falling apart…
And now a little more on the inspiration image on the book cover…it’s actually based on this illustration that appeared in the February 23, 1884 issue of Harper’s Bazar:
Harper’s Bazar, February 23, 1884
Here’s the dress description (I have edited it slightly to make it easier to read):
Figure 2: EVENING DRESS: This graceful dress with a small train is made of sea-foam green silk trimmed with white lace and large clusters of roses of variegated colors- pink, cream, and deep red- held by flots of green velvet or satin ribbon. A deep flounce of ribbon crosses the front and falls upon a narrower flounce. The apron over-and skirt is caught up on each side and joins the back of the, which forms the small train; the back breadths are arranged in a large puff, and in uneven drapery below. The flowers are posed alike on each side of the skirt.
The low pointed corsage [bodice] is of silk, covered by lace put on smoothly as a transparent. A drapery of the silk begins on the right shoulder, crosses the front, and is lost under the flowers on the left side. A smaller bouquet is placed on the left of the corsage. The high coiffure has a cluster of pink and pale green ostrich tips. Painted silk fan, silk stockings, and satin slippers the color of the dress.
As you can no doubt determine from this somewhat long-winded description and accompanying illustration, flowers play a major role in the dress design and this was a major factor in designing the client’s dress except that we used yellow flowers at the client’s request.
To be continued…
Always Something at the Atelier
We examine a lot of original garments, studying them to determine the sorts of fabrics that were used as well as working out period construction techniques. This day dress is from circa 1879-1880 and was machine stitched and hand finished with only one soutache side detail.
I even did a burn test on some of the threads and determined that it was wool. 😎
Some Commentary on 1890s Style
When it comes to fashion, the 1890s have always been a source of fascination for us and to us, it’s been one of the most misunderstood periods for fashion; visions of a never-ending parade of women with excessively large Gigot sleeves and extreme wasp-waists created by tight-laced corsets. It was an era of excess with lots going on and for many, it’s a major turn-off and especially when compared to the free-flowing unstructured (to a point) styles that came later in the 1910s and 20s.
However, it could also be argued that the 1890s marked the beginnings of major fashion shifts that were to come to full flower in the following decades and especially with day wear. The 1890s saw the introduction of functional day wear styles that reflected women’s shifting roles in society and especially in going to work outside of the home and participating in outdoor activities such as bicycling. Also, design-wise, we see a simplification of dress styles that relied less on trim and excess yardage (especially compared to the 1870s and 80s) and more on the decorative effect of the existing fashion fabric. Naturally, as with all of fashion there were exceptions to every rule and many styles of the 1890s retained elements of previous ones but we’re painting with a broad brush here. With that said, let’s proceed…
Today we take a look at one unique example of 90s style:
Day Dress, c. 1894 -1896; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1979.346.25a–c)
Front View
Rear View
Close-Up Of Collar
Close-Up Of Sleeve
This dress ensemble was an ensemble made for James McCreery & Co. (1867 – 1954), a major New York dry goods retailer that was active during the late 19th Century. The dress has the silhouette typical of mid-1890s styles to include the gigot sleeves and cinched wasp waist. The purple fashion fabric is a wool combined with black silk velvet for the sleeves. The same velvet is also used as trim along the skirt hem and stripes along the bodice front and back. Also, depending on how you view it, the sleeves are trimmed with stripes of the purple wool fabric. Finally, note must be made of the striped black and white waist that’s visible under the upper bodice and at the sleeve cuffs- this is probably a faux waist that’s part of the overall dress.
However, what is most notable about this design is that the front bodice is cut asymmetrically, a feature that’s emphasized by the black and white trim panels running along the front bodice edges. The bold front bodice treatment balances out the black gigot sleeves, serving to create a style that’s both balanced and bold. Interestingly enough, the Metropolitan Museum of Art website terms this as a half-morning dress but to us, that really just doesn’t seem to be the case but that’s just our opinion. But wait, there’s more! Although there’s no information from the Met website, it appears that this was an ensemble that also came with a black velvet jacket and separate waist:
Close-Up Of Under-Bodice
 There isn’t a good picture of the waist but it appears to be made of a white silk with gold embroidery and this is also carried over into the wide collar seen on the jacket. As with the bodice, the jacket is cut asymmetrically at the top. Compared to the bodice in the first set of pictures, the look is definitely more restrained and almost unexceptional. Perhaps that’s where the “mourning” aspect comes in but we seriously question that. 🙂
The above dress is an interesting example of one of the better dress designs to come out of the mid-1890s and especially since it did not directly come out of the Paris couture house (although they did license designs for the American market) with a specific designer name. We would certainly love to know more about the design and how it got its initial inspiration but we fear that this information is probably lost to the ages. We hope you’ve enjoyed this little excursion into the 1890s and we hope to have more styles to feature in future posts. 🙂