And For Some More 1890s Outerwear

December 15, 2021December 14, 2021 / Adam Lid / Leave a comment

I‘s been especially cold lately in Southern California and once again, thoughts turn to outerwear…😄

Even in Southern California (and Southern Arizona, for that matter), December can get cold and when it does, our thoughts rapidly turn to outerwear. 🙂 Today we turn to the December 1890 issue of Demorest’s Family Magazine:

Decidedly the most popular outdoor garment this season is the jacket, which is worn by ladies of all ages, whether of petite or portly figure. All styles agree in having the fitted back, differing only in the use or omission of plaits or lap at the side-form and back seams, and the majority have tight-fitting fronts, either single or double-breasted, the loose fronted “Reefer,” and the open, rolling fronts displaying a vest, being the exceptions.

Here’s some examples of styles pictured in Demorest’s:

One of the more interesting and eminently practical is the “Reefer” Jacket:

Here’s another view of the jacket style as part of a complete outfit from the December issue of Peterson’s Magazine:

Finally, just to round things off here are some pictures of extant originals:

Jacket, c. 1891; Auction in AntiqueDress.com

Skirt Suit Jacket, c. 1895; Victoria & Albert Museum (T.173&A-1969)

Afternoon Jacket, Emile Pingat, c. 1885 – 1890; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.76)

Jackets were an integral part of any wardrobe of the period, ranging from the purely functional to the extremely fashionable, and there’s a wide range of possibilities for those recreating historical fashions.

And For A Little 1890s Outerwear

December 13, 2021December 13, 2021 / 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! 😁

Eton Jacket Project No. 2 – Part 4

May 17, 2021January 2, 2022 / Adam Lid / Leave a comment

This is our fourth installment in a series of posts on the second of my Eton jacket projects. Here’s links to the previous posts:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

And a little more progress on the Eton jacket- the next step of attaching the collars will be an interesting on in that the top collar is attached to the facing and the under collar is attached to the jacket body/shell. First, to attach the top collar to the facings:

The view from outside- this will ultimately make up the “inside front” of the jacket and the lapels will be facing outwards.

The view from inside. Because of the curve of the collar, it’s necessary to clip notches (carefully) along the seam allowance.

A close-up of the inside of the top collar.

Next stop, attaching the undercollar to the jacket shell… 🙂

Eton Jacket Project No. 2 – Part 3

May 16, 2021January 2, 2022 / Adam Lid / 1 Comment

This is our third installment in a series of posts on the second of my Eton jacket projects. Here’s links to the previous posts:

Part 1 Part 2

More progress on the Eton jacket…the pad stitching has done a number on my fingers so progress has been a bit slow. I’m trying out some new tailoring techniques, at least to me- the fabric is a herringbone weave teal linen with the unfortunately property of REALLY stretching so it’s presented some challenges that I didn’t anticipate. But, nevertheless, I’ve completed the outer shell and the collar parts. The next step will be working with the facings and the lining…

The lapels have been steamed and are hanging very nicely. Someone who looked at my previous Eton jacket project stated that the lapels were “too stiff”- well, yes, that’s exactly THE POINT! 🙂 What you want to avoid are the lapels flopping about- rather, you want a degree of stiffness so they will maintain their shape, especially since the Eton jacket is meant to worn open.

The undercollar was fairly labor-intensive. I first had to carefully cut out the undercollar itself, purposely making the edges about 1/4″ less than the top collar so as to allow for the “turn of the cloth”- essentially to ensure that the material on the undercollar remains hidden when the collar is constructed.

The right side/fashion fabric side of the undercollar. You can see the pad stitching, along with my mistakes which will all be hidden once the collar is completely assembled. 😄

To be continued…