For today’s fashion feature, we switch gears just a bit and present a very unique circa 1879 house dress¹We do admit that you could also possibly consider this to be a tea gown but to us it read more like a house dress. Purely subjective on our part to be sure.. Even more interesting is that this dress has an accompanying picture of the dress’s original owner, something that one rarely sees:

The dress is a princess line style and the silhouette is somewhat loose, a style that was characteristic of house dresses of the late 1870s and 1880s and in the dress has a closed front. The dress is constructed from a red wool with a gold embroidery floral design that runs down the dress front and continues along the hem.  Unfortunately, the pictures aren’t that large so it’s hard to make out details, Here’s some close-up views:

Here’s a nice view of the floral design motif at the bottom front and the corner provides a perfect opportunity to expand on the design and make it stand out. The leaves are ferns that are reminiscent of neo-classical floral motifs found in France during the Napoleonic era. Here’s another view of the lower dress front:

The sleeves are pretty simple and unadorned except on the cuffs:

Below is a good close-up view of the cuff treatment; a large gold embroidered flower and white lace at the bottom:

And here’s a close of the embroidered flower from the cuff:

And the pocket:

The back is also very interesting with it’s seam treatment running down the entire length of the back, flaring into pleats towards the bottom:

To make this dress complete here’s a picture of it being worn back around circa 1879:

This dress is definitely a finer, more upscale version of the utilitarian house dress and was clearly meant for wear when visitors came calling. This is also reinforced by that fact that the dress’ owner felt it was respectable enough to have their photograph taken while wearing it. It’s amazing, to say the least and it would be interesting to know more about the lady in the above pictures but unfortunately, the auction website that we got this from was a bit sparse on details. Nevertheless, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the past.