Costume History

And For A Little 1890s Outerwear

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Brrr…it’s a bit cold here in Southern California with a hint of rain to come and we can’t help but think of jackets and especially 1890s jackets. 😁 Here’s a nice circa 1895 example from the FIDM Museum:

Jacket, c. 1895; FIDM Museum

Constructed of a black (at least from what we can tell in the photos), this jacket definitely reads mid-1890s with it’s Medici collar, gigot sleeves, nipped waist and flaring peplum.  The silhouette is simple with an emphasis on function but it’s immaculately tailored with understated trim in the form of black soutache.

The black soutache work is amazing:

This is an amazing example- both functional and elegant. We’re definitely feeling inspired now! 😁


An Evening Dress From Maison Worth

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Today we feature yet another find from Maison Worth, in this case an evening dress from the mid-1890s from Drouot, a French antique auction website:

Worth, Evening Dress, c. Mid-1890s; Drouot Auction Website

This dress is constructed of a pink silk satin (possibly a duchesse) for both skirt and bodice. The skirt is relatively plain except for the ivory silk chiffon running along the hem. The bodice is another matter, decorated in front with a series of black bead and jeweled appliques on the front and on each sleeve cuff. Running along the bustline and the bodice back is ivory netting with spangles. To complete the design, the sleeves are three-quarter length with what appear to be pink chiffon sleeve extensions with spangles. It’s an interest effect, to say the least.

Looking at the sleeve heads, we would venture that this dress was made sometime in the 1893-1895 time frame- there’s a definite fullness but it’s not as expansive as was characteristic of the large gigot sleeves that developed as a style trend in 1895-1897; but of course, this is only conjecture on our part. Below are two close-ups of the bodice front:

The front applique panels create a very complex design. On close examination, it would appear that the base was composed of the same shade of pink netting as found on the sleeve extensions. And now for two rear views:

And a close-up of the sleeve detail:

The sleeve extensions (they see to be more than just “cuffs” to us) are quite elaborate, combining pink netting, spangles, and metallic fringe at the ends. This was probably not the most practical dinner for dining… Finally, just for completeness, here are two views of the bodice interior:

Note the distinctive petersham with the Worth logo. As with most formal bodices of the period, all the seams are boned and it’s interesting to note that the front has three bones sewn in side-by-side. All the seam edges have been finished by hand and overall, the interior appears fairly tidy.

The evening dress is fascinating in that it’s an example that hasn’t been well-documented since it’s been in private collections as opposed to a museum. We’d certainly be interested to know the provenance of the dress; it would be great to be able to find out more about but we suspect it will always remain somewhat of a question mark. We hope you’ve enjoyed most fascinating design from Maison Worth.


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And Now From Maison Worth 😉

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

When it came to haute couture, Maison Worth was a master not only noted for its imaginative designs, but also for the sheer output of product as demonstrated by the extensive collections of Worth gowns in many museum collections such as the Met in New York. Also, thanks to the internet and all manner of reference works, many of Worth’s creations are well documented and known so it’s always a treat when one comes across examples that aren’t in museums and thus less well documented- principally from auction websites. Below is one such example, a circa 1900 ball gown we came across on Drouot, a French antique auction website:

Worth, Ball Gown, c. 1900; Drouot Auction Website

In the above view, we get a closer look at the bodice front. What’s interesting is that the bodice pieces make no attempt to match up the pattern and thus it looks a bit jarring when view up close.

As with many of Maison Worth’s gowns of this period, the emphasis was on the fabric itself and thus there was a minimum of trim. The fabric appears to be an ivory silk brocade with a floral pattern (the lighting in the pictures can sometimes make fabric colors deceptive). Here’s a closer view of the fashion fabric starting with part of the skirt:

The floral design is beautiful and we would have liked to be have been able to view it in person. Also, unfortunately, there’s no information online as to the garment’s provenance- that would have been interesting to know. But that all said, this ball gown is a wonderful example of Maison Worth’s late 1890s/early 1900s designs. In future posts, we’ll have some more wonderful new (at least to us) examples to look at. 😉

Dior: Designer Of Dreams

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

The Dior “Designer of Dreams” exhibition at the V&A Museum in 2019 was probably one of the profound fashion exhibitions that we’ve ever been privileged to view and it’s definitely served as a source of inspiration for us even though it’s somewhat removed from our normal area of focus. Below is a short video that gives a taste of that exhibition:

To further capture some of the impact of this exhibit, here’s a few pictures that we took during our visit:

 

And finally, where it all started… 🙂

Dior “Bar” Suit, 1947; V&A Museum (T.376&A-1960)




A LIttle Mid-1880s Millinery

/ Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

Jumping back to the 1880s- while researching something else completely different, we came across these two excellent examples of  the “flowerpot” hat that was characteristic of 1880s millinery. The first example is a more extreme example, often called the “conquistador” style because it resembled the morion helmet characteristic of the Conquistadores of the 16th Century:

Straw Hat, c. 1880s; Kent State University Museum (1991.077.0002)

The “flower pot” hat could be more “flat” as with this example with only a curved brim such as seen in these two examples:

Women’s Hat, Mme. Mantel, French, c. 1886; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.1415)

Woman’s Hat, Straw, c. 1884 – 1886; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.5912)

Those are just a few styles to inspire…. 😉