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. 😎
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:
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. 🙂
This is another video that was too big to put on Etsy so here it is…
This is Fashion: A History from the 18th to 20th Centuries by the Kyoto Costume Institute (various authors) which covers a 200-year period. Drawing upon the the Kyoto Costume Institute collection, this one-volume work gives a broad overview and while it’s admittedly very small (around 5″ x 7″), it’s very comprehensive and easy to handle. It’s the perfect size for quick reference and handy to have in the sewing room. Check it out at our Etsy store:
Nothing says “Happy New Years” more than opening a bottle of champagne and here’s a circa 1904 costume dress from the Bath Fashion Museum that takes this idea to the next level… 😎
Costume Dress, c. 1904; Bath Fashion Museum
According to the Museum, this dress was made in around 1904 for Mrs. Ada Power and the dress and matching hat has been designed to mimic the classic Veuve Clicquot champagne bottle. The dark green velvet skirt represents the green glass of the bottle and is adorned with the signature Veuve Clicquot yellow labels which were produced in France especially for the costume. A gold metallic thread bodice is the foil ‘coiffe’, the frothy sleeves suggest bubbles and the hat is the cork.
Below are a couple of close-ups of the top and bottom:
From the above picture, it appears that a gold metallic fabric was utilized for the top part to include a looped gold-colored robe trim along the neck and shoulders.
Here’s a closer look at the skirt and although it’s difficult to tell from the picture, it’s a dark bottle green that was designed to mimic the Clicquot bottle.
Above is a close-up of the accompanying coiffe hat, no doubt meant to mimic the bottle cork/outer foil wrapper. 😁
Ms. Ada Power in the Clicquot Dress.
And the finished product!! And yes, Clicquot is still made today and it’s a definite favorite here at the Atelier!
Cheers for a happy new years!!
Emile Pingat’s designs have always been fascinating and especially since he tends to overshadowed by Worth (and Doucet, to a lesser extent). Today, Pingat was mostly noted for his outerwear, but he also designed dresses. Below is an interesting day dress from 1897:
Pingat, Day Dress, 1897; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2012.95.123a-b)
This dress consists of a multi-gored skirt combined with an under-bodice all of a patterned woven silk fabric. The over-bodice simulates a capelet and along with the sleeves is constructed from a red silk velvet. The same color silk velvet can also be seen in the chevrons running along the skirt and the belt. The gigot sleeves are relatively subdued for an 1897 style; what is especially interesting about the sleeves is that the sleeve caps open up to reveal insets of woven silk fabric that’s similar to the skirt and under-bodice. Here’s a close-up of the left shoulder:
Here’s a close-up of the fabric used in the inset on the sleeves. The intricate floral cord border is an interesting decorative touch:
And here’s the fabric used on the skirt and under-bodice:
When you look at the overall dress, the eye is immediately drawn to the shoulders and the two insets provide some interesting color pops to the red outer-bodice. On the flip side, one could also argue that the dress is too busy from a design perspective and that the somewhat dramatic design elements should have been scaled back: one or to works well but not everything. But nevertheless, Pingat’s design is imaginative and the upper sleeve inserts is something that’s not normally seen in 1890s style. Stay tuned for more in our never-ending quest for the unique and different in late Nineteenth Century style.
