Reception Dress

More Late 1870s Asymmetrical Style

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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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More 1870s Style

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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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And Now For Some Mid-1890s Style

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1890s style is definitely a thing with us and today we present you this circa 1895 evening dress:

Rouff, Evening Dress; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.6477a, b)

The color and texture combination of this dress are a very harmonious combination of an olive velvet bodice combined with a black silk satin skirt and bodice front panels. To finish the style, there’s gold embroidery and fringe which serve to offset the black skirt and front bodice.  Although there’s only one picture of the dress, it does appear that there’s a separate bodice and skirt and the skirt appears to be have been made from the black silk satin fabric; the gold embroidery is a floral design that’s rectangular, running down each side of the front part of the skirt and then running along the skirt bottom, above the hem. It’s too bad that there’s no pictures of the dress from the back or sides.

Close-up of trim detail.

Above is a close-up view of the bottom skirt front and the gold embroidery can be clearly seen. Also, one can also see that black beaded appliques were also used as part of the floral pattern design. In terms of style, the wide neck line and low shoulders  suggest an evening dress style but this style would also work as a reception dress. It’s a fascinating dress and we only wish that there were some more pictures available- there’s a lot of details that are obscured. But, nevertheless, this is another source of dress inspiration, especially with the large leg-of-mutton sleeves.

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