Fashion History

More Late 1870s Asymmetrical Style

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

If you liked our previous post in asymmetrical style, here’s another example from the same couturière, Maison Cécile Laisne:

Maison Cécile Laisne, c. 1878-1879; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.45.38.1a, b)

This time, the designer utilized a combination of an ivory-colored silk jacquard overskirt arranged in a spiral drape that works its way upwards towards the bodice combined with a silk underskirt covered in an elaborate network of woven cords and what appear to be large metallic beads. If one looks carefully underneath the net, one can see an underskirt consisting of rows of knife pleating, also in an ivory color.

The bodice is long, going over the hips and is typical of Mid-Bustle/Natural Form styles. The bodice is symmetrical, consisting of what appears to be some sort of plain ivory-colored silk satin fabric framed along the hem and front by wide rows of ivory silk satin with passementerie consisting of cording and metallic beads similar to that of the net underskirt. Below is a close-up of the fashion fabric found on the overskirt:

From the pictures, it appears that the net underskirt is visible on the left side only while covered with the outerskirt draping on the right.

The cord work netting is amazing and the steel beads really give it definition. It also appears that there’s some ruching of the fabric of the underskirt foundation. The dress’s asymmetrical style can really be seen from this rear view picture:

The demi-train is pleated and has two or three rows of knife pleating running along the hem. Further up, one can see where the spiraling outerskirt ends, secured in the folds of the train (can we say draping? 😁 ). A small bow on the bodice back at hem level completes the look.  And last, here’s the dress label:

Compared to Maison Cécile Laisne’s design in the first post, we tend to like this design a lot better because the asymmetrical elements are arranged more harmoniously with the dress achieving a unified style rather than having elements seemingly “bolted on.” But as with all of this, it’s a very subjective thing. 😁

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Mid-Bustle Era/Natura Form – Asymmetrical Style

/ Adam Lid / 2 Comments

We’re on a roll when it comes to Mid-Bustle/Natural Form style! Today we feature this day dress that was made by Maison Cécile Laisne sometime around 1879 in Paris. What’s interesting about this dress is the use of asymmetrical design elements:

Maison Cécile Laisne, Day Dress, c. 1879; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.45.38.2a, b)

The skirt and bodice are made from a gold/champagne-colored silk jacquard with a silk satin knife-pleated hem made from the same color. The neck and upper bust are filled in with a gauze that’s also in the gold/champagne color. However, the most striking element are the wide jeweled/gold metallic braid trim stripes that run up both sides of the bodice front and decorate the cuffs. Below, a larger strip of trim with the same jeweled metallic braid runs along the lower bodice and skirt, starting at the center back of the bodice and then spiraling down and following the train on the left side.  Below is a close-up of the front upper bodice:

The trim definitely makes the front bodice stand out and it catches the eye, combined with the large center bow.

The view shows the dress silhouette nicely and one can make out the floral jacquard pattern. Two rows of pleating along the hem further serve to accentuate the train. Below is another view of the train:

In the above and below pictures, we see the trim to its fullest extent, running along the one side of the lower bodice and then down the left side of the demi-train.

Below is a close-up of the silk jacquard fashion fabric with it’s floral motif:

And the cuff accents:

And finally, a nice close-up view of the trim- this was, no doubt, all set by hand and represents hours of work.

The use of asymetrical design elements is one major style that’s common in late 19th Century dresses and the above dress is just one example. What makes this one so striking is the use of a wide, very elaborate stripe that immediately catches the eye, especially from behind and while it’s a bit jarring, it does succeed in capturing the viewer’s immediate attention. While this wasn’t a style for everyone, it was definitely one that was guaranteed to get attention- can you say Mrs. Bertha Russell, anyone? 😁

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More Mid-Bustle Style

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Joseph Scheurenberg, Confidences, 1878

Today we take take our examination of Mid-Bustle Era/Natural style further with this circa 1879-1881 day dress:

Day Dress, c. 1879-1881; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.50.105.17)

This dress is constructed of old gold/champagne-colored silk taffeta for the skirt and and bodice body combined with black silk taffeta on the sleeves and parts of the bodice. The old gold/champagne color combined with neutral black make a harmonizing combination and especially on the bodice. The straight lines of the natural form/Mid-Bustle silhouette are given further emphasis with the vertical stripes of the bodice. The use of the same black silk taffeta to trim the skirt and hem finish the dress in a pleasing manner.

From the above picture, we can see that while there is some bustling, it’s pretty restrained and really only services to support the train at the bottom. Also, in the above picture, it’s interesting to see the use of a polonaise-style bodice that is long in front, tapering to waist level in the back and ending with a large bow.

As can be seen from the above two pictures, the train is more restrained than the dress featured yesterday. Looking at the rear, the use of black taffeta for the bodice back draw the viewer’s eye towards the waist with its bow and draping that lead the eye further down towards the train. This is contrast to the front where the viewer’s eye is drawn in the opposite direction towards the bodice top and neckline.

Although this dress consists of separate skirt and bodice, their lines emphasize the upright, cylindrical shape characteristic of this period.  About the only flaw we can find is with the rear train and box- it all appears very untidy BUT this may have more to do with the staging of the dress on the mannequin rather than any inherent flaw in the dress itself.  Stay tuned as we unearth more styles from this brief but interesting period.

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Natural Form/Mid-Bustle Era Style

/ Adam Lid / 1 Comment

The Mid-Bustle or Natural Form Era of the late 1870s/early 1880s was characterized by a drastic reduction in train sizes, shifting away from the extreme bustling, and an emphasis on a more upright cylindrical style. However, within this general trend, there existed a wide variety of styles that all worked to show off this new silhouette to its best advantage. Below is just one style that was out there during the Mid-Bustle Era, in this case a circa 1878-1880 afternoon dress:

Merlot-Larcheveque, Afternoon Dress, c. 1878-1880; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.50.39)

From the pictures, it appears that the dress was constructed of burgundy red silk taffeta for the skirt front and inner bodice combined with a floral patterned striped silk brocade in a combination of black, brown, burgundy, and gold colors. The striped fabric has been arranged so as to create the illusion of a robe that leads down to a demi-train.  The pseudo-robe effect is further enhanced by the princess line and there’s no separate bodice and skirt combination (at least as far as we can tell, anyway).

In this picture, we get a better view of the upper part of the dress and we can see that the dress is one piece although the “bodice” opens up. Ivory lace is used on the cuffs and around the neckline, serving to outline the wearer’s face and hands. Below is a close-up of the striped fashion fabric:

And below is a good illustration of the dress silhouette:

While there’s a bit of a rear bustle projection, it’s relatively restrained and more about supporting the demi-train. Note that the dress train extends from the bottom rather from the waist as was the case with earlier 1870s styles. Here’s another view of the train:

The fact that this dress has a demi-train suggests that it was meant for more formal daytime occasions (hence the designation “afternoon dress”). Below is a full-on view of rear of the dress:

The dress label- Merlot-Larcheveque, 25 Boulevard des Capucines, 25, En face le Grand Hotel. Unfortunately, we were unable to find out more about the maker.

The above picture is a black and white view of the dress that was taken back in the 1950s and while it doesn’t capture the dress colors, it does highlight the pattern of the outer fashion fabric very nicely. Overall, this dress is an excellent illustration of one type of  Mid-Bustle Era style which involved creating the illusion of an underskirt covered by an outer robe.  Stay tuned for more!

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More 1870s Style

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Just when we thought we’d seen it all when it comes to 1870s style, there’s always something new to us that grabs our attention and in this case, an interesting circa 1876 reception dress from the Centraal Museum in Utrecht:

Reception Dress, c. 1876; Centraal Museum, Utrecht (4468/001-002

This dress features a dual solid/patterned fabric combination characteristic of 1870s style with the skirt and undertrain constructed of what appears to be a bright blue silk taffeta silk combined with a floral patterned silk brocade bodice and train. The bodice front features a narrow plastron of the same blue silk taffeta found in the dress and undertrain. The neckline is relatively modest, combined with a high Mandarin-like collar. The sleeves are three-quarter and are trimmed with ivory/champagne-colored lace.

The dress silhouette is interesting in that combines elements of both Early and Middle Bustle Eras. First, the bodice is suggestive of an early pannier polonaise style, a style that was to come into its own by 1880. However, note that the bodice is a separate entity from the pannier draping. At the same time, the bodice rear extends into a full train that style-wise is more characteristic of an earlier bustle era style.  Also, it’s interesting to note that while there’s a fully developed train going on, it’s more suggestive of later Mid-Bustle/Natural Form styles but nevertheless, some form of bustle was utilized and it’s especially a good candidate for a cage style bustle. Finally, we’d like to note the use of two horizontal rows of loose gathering on the dress front along with the loosely pleated hem serve to give the dress front more fullness.

The above picture provides a good view of the train and it’s clear that the bustle that would have been used with this dress would have emphasized the fullness of the train on the vertical plane. Now, let’s take a closer look at the bodice:

The high Mandarin collar and cut-out neckline are very angular and geometric and the theme is carried on further down the bodice front with the plastron that features a faux diamond cut-out below the neckline that reveals the pleated blue plaston.

The plastron’s vertical knife pleats draw the eye upwards towards the neckline, emphasizing the silhouette’s slender vertical lines, a style characteristic found in later Mid-Bustle/Natural Form styles. The overall effect is further emphasized with the minimal use of trim.

In the above picture, one can get a good idea of what the silk brocade looks like- note the bright blue velvet flowers outlined in gold on a background of striated blue and gold fabric. The excellent condition of the colors and the fabrics are simply amazing and it’s obvious that this dress was stored well, away from light. Below are some more close-ups from various parts of the dress:

Below is a nice view of one of the cuffs:

Finally, here’s a couple more full views of the dress from different angles:

The pictures above and below really give a good view of the dresse’s fullness in the front which nicely combines with the fullness of the train.

Below is a another nice view of the train.

For us, this is a very interesting dress in its transitional nature, combining earlier and later style elements and a fairly harmonious manner (although some could argue that the effect is somewhat clumsy but we beg to differ). It also shows that often, dresses are difficult to pigeon-hole in terms of style and only shows that fashion history is always full of unique surprises.

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