Skirt

And For Another Waist And Skirt Style…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

And continue the theme of 1890s waist and skirt style, today we focus on another skirt and waist combination that was featured in an 1896 edition of La Mode Pratique:

Here’s a rough translation of the description:

Dinner dress for a young woman; satin skirt; batiste bodice with polka dots decorated with a yoke and a belt of guipure lace1Guipure was a heavy lace consisting of embroidered motifs joined together by large connecting stitches.; draped satin collar; long white suede gloves.

This is a very elegant version of the waist and skirt style with the skirt being constructed of a brown silk satin combined with a waist/bodice2The terms “bodice” and “waist” or “blouse” were often used intern changeably. The term “corsage” was also used both in English and French. Often the lines seem to blur. constructed from a silk batiste trimmed with a matching lace collar and belt made of a white or ivory guipure lace (hard to tell from the illustration). What is also interesting is that the waist is a belted waist, meant for wear over the dress rather than being tucked in at the skirt waist line. Finally, to complete this outfit, there is also a pair of white suede gloves.

As can be seen from the above illustration, this style is a bit more formal than what was normally associated with the typical waist and skirt style of the era- that of a simple skirt and blouse-like shirtwaist (or waist. Here, the belted waist becomes more formal, bordering on a conventional dress bodice but yet, not quite; filling a niche- dressy but not too dressy- and is a perfect way to make an outfit serve in multiple roles. Moreover, we believe that this style is a perfect candidate for being recreated, because of its versatility. To us, the belted waist is a very under-represented style when looking at today’s recreated garments yet it was a very popular style of the 1890s. The belted waist came in a variety of styles for a number of price points to include sewing patterns for the home-sewer like these:

And here’s an extent example:

Day Dress, Cotton, c. 1890s; Augusta Auctions

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this close-up of just one of many waist and skirt styles that were in existence during the 1890s and we hope to be posting more in the future. 🙂

Today’s 1890s Fashion Feature…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Today’s 1890s style is a skirt and waist combination that was featured in an 1896 edition of La Mode Pratique:

Roughly translated, the description reads:

The skirt is a very dark purple Liberty velvet. The silk blouse is a water- green brocaded silk blouse with soft pink designs.; Water green brocaded. A light light lace imitating point d’Angleterre (English lace)1A bobbin lace of English origin.; velvet collar and belt.

What is most notable is that we’re seeing a very refined version of the waist and skirt combination style that was becoming extremely popular during the 1890s. While originally intended as practical garments for everyday wear, the style illustrated above takes the style further with the skirt made from a violet silk velvet, presumably obtained from Liberty London. The waist is a water green silk brocade with what appears to be a soft pink colored floral design. To establish a better of idea of “water green,” here’s a picture of some silk habotai in that color, subject to the differences in color that can arise from computer imagery:

The above style is the perfect demonstration of how what was originally meant as a simple practical outfit has now been elevated into something more high fashion. This elevating process has been a constant element in the evolution of fashion both during the late Nineteenth Century and today. Probably the best example today is how jeans were transformed from simple practical pants that were intended for manual laborers has now been elevated into high fashion, and on some occasions, haute couture.  We hope you have found this to be as inspiring to you as it’s been for us. 🙂