Costume History

From the Atelier – A Paisley Tea Gown

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

In a previous post, we looked at a paisley house dress/tea gown from the mid-1890s and noted that the paisley shawls that were a staple of 1850s-60s fashion would up being re-purposed into dresses during the 1870s, 80s, and even 90s. Here’s one such example with this c. 1885-89 tea gown.

Tea Gown, c. 1885-1889; Kent State University Museum; 1995.017.0016

Although the design makes it look like there’s a robe over a separate under-dress, it’s really all a one-piece construction.

And the back is pretty incredible:

Of course, without physically inspecting it, it’s difficult to tell how exactly the paisley shawl might have been incorporated (or if a shawl was actually used versus yardage) but it is somewhat logical given the extensive use of a solid color as an underlayer. The investigation continues… 😎

From the Atelier – Fall is Here…

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Happy First Day of Autumn! To celebrate this spooky pumpkin season, I thought I’d share one of the first ladies that started our collection in bright copper pumpkin silk faille. She’s all original, no shattering, and is fetchingly balanced on one of our own bustles. She’s homemade or Dressmaker made, completely hand finished and little to no signs of wear. Was she a wedding or special occasion dress? Only the Ghost Seamstress knows…

Mid-1890s Style – One Dress

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Mid 1890s styles are very easy to spot with their gigot sleeves and multi-gore skirts. We came across this circa 1895 dinner dress dress on the Augusta Auctions website, one of our go-to dress source outside of museums.

Augusta Auctions

This is an interesting dress in that it utilizes a two-tone color effect, pairing a pea green (medium green) colored skirt and bodice trim with gold-colored sleeves and under-bodice. There’s a definite floral theme running through this with floral embroidery on the skirt as well part of the front bodice. Here’s some more views:

Here are some closer views of the bodice and sleeves. The sleeves are interesting in that the gold-colored fabric has a subtle floral pattern that complements the other floral elements found on the skirt and bodice.

The pea green fashion fabric appears to be made of a silk taffeta with a dull finish that acts as a nice contrasting texture to the gold silk sating of the sleeves.

The sleeve fabric appears to be a silk satin with an embroidered floral design.

And finally, here’s the decorative effect on the skirt itself:

The skirt is also finished off by a back of ruching running along the hemline.

Overall, this dinner dress is elegant but not overdone and definitely sets a level of elegance that might not be on the level worn by one of the 400 but is still up there. Interestingly enough, this dress was made in Boston and while it borrows many French design elements, it’s also restrained. We love the dress!

From the Atelier – Our Design Philosophy

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Our passion to help set the standard for reproducing late 19th Century garments begins with an understanding of all the details found in original/extant garments. Often, when we look at reproduction garments (film, reenactment, old time dress-up), we notice that they often repeat the mistakes found in tired, mass-produced reproduction patterns. To us, the only true way of recreating late 19th Century garments are by starting with an examination of original/extant garments. All our designs are based on originals garments and probably 80% of those specific designs are based on extant garments in our collection; if you view our social media (Facebook, Instagram), you will see our designs next to the originals that inspired them.

Side-by-side comparison. Now, bear in mind that our designs are not always line-for-line reproductions but rather we use various period design elements and combine them to create more of “inspired-by” creations.

This is the heart of the patterning/design operation- pattern pieces are checked by placing on a mannequin as well as “walking” the pieces and truing up the edges. Yes, this takes time and effort but it avoids mistakes and saves a lot of time and eliminates a lot of grief in the end. Trust us… In future posts, we’ll have more on our design philosophy.

Creases in Men’s Pants

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

The use of creases in men’s pants has always been an interesting topic and especially since there’s been very little hard information. Beyond the common idea that creases were “invented” by King Edward, there’s been little hard information. Until now. In this interesting blog post, the staff of the FIDM Museum has attempted to bring some clarity to his issue. Enjoy!