1850's Wrapper Dress with a Crazy Print

From the seller:

A charming 1860’s printed challis dress that has been de-accessioned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The fabric has a red and blue stripe pattern on a brown and tan background. The dress has pagoda styled sleeves. The front of the dress and sleeve cuffs are trimmed with bands of black velvet. The waist is loose in the front and fitted on the sides and back. The dress might have been worn for maternity purposes. The bodice is lined with cotton and the lining has a hook and eye closure. The front of the bodice has a snap closure and the skirt has a black velvet frog closure. The skirt is lined with cotton. The dress is in very good and sturdy condition. There is light underarm discoloration on the inside lining and a few scattered small holes but not major. B 32 W 34 Skirt length 40 Width at hemline 140.

From Me:

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I've been in full Pennsic prep mode and will be AWOL mostly until August 13th. I will be living it up like it's 1499 somewhere in the middle west of Pennsylvania.

I think this is 1850's although it certainly could have been worn in the 1860's. The reason for my date of 1850's is because of the fabric. The way it's styled, the print and colors look too similar to many other 1850's wrappers. Like this one or this one .

1850's Green Dress Redone in the 1860's

From the seller:

This week, I will be listing a Wonderful Collection of Vintage Clothing, including a large assortment of Victorian from a single Estate find.
Please, check out my other items to save of shipping.
Good Luck!

This is a Great, Rare, Early Victorian woman's dress. This wonderful Old piece has a Great, Early design, with Velvet trim & embroidered Lace, is made of Green Silk, an Original, Vintage example, from the Victorian era, 19th Century, and is Rare to Find. This has no marked Size, but actually measures approx. 17" from armpit to armpit, 26" in the waist and 51" from top to bottom. This appears to be in Fair, Solid condition, with some silk loss around the buttons and in the armpits.


From Me:

This is one of those dresses that got worn and reworn again and again. The pleating at the skirt going all the way around but the cut off once-there-was-a-point-there waistline makes this dress probably date from between 1862-1864. The original style was probably more mid 1850's given the sleeves. I bet this was someone's best Christmas dress for many, many years.

Mid 19th Century Victorian Plaid Dress redone in the early 1860s

From the seller:

Antique 1850's 1860's Civil War Era Bright Sky Blue & White Plaid Silk & Fringe Hoop Skirt Dress w/Huge Pagoda Sleeves!

- Rare Excellent Condition w/Provenance! - Vibrant & Dressy w/Scallops & Lace!


Full description & condition below following photos: My dress form is a bit to large for the bust area of the dress, so the top doesn't close all the way up (it was really close & might have gone, but I didn't want to stress the fabric trying). - There is nothing wrong with the dress though and it would close all the way up the front with no problems on a dress form or display that was the proper size for it!

DESCRIPTION:


- Amazing 1850's to 1860's civil war era dress, done in a bright sky blue, black, and white silk that has a complex plaid print

- The bodice has a high neckline and small embroidered button closures down the front, along with a hand-made lace collar (not attached to dress but fits perfectly)

- Huge flared pagoda sleeves with wide scalloped edging and matching dark blue scalloped fringe trim at the shoulder caps and bottom of the sleeves

- Princess seaming through the front and back of bodice

- Skirt is heavily gathered around the waist and is quite full, to be worn over a hoop underskirt (shown displayed on a much smaller Victorian underslip)

- The inside of the bodice is fully lined with a natural colored mid-weight cotton, and has a provenance written in pencil that says "Belle - 1860's, From an Estate in Mass."

- All of the stitching for the entire dress is meticulously and expertly done by hand, and there's a neat pocket hidden in the cotton underskirt!



CONDITION: Excellent for a dress of this era and design - I'm always amazed when a dress of this era has such few flaws and is so wonderful! The silk is very strong, not brittle or shattering, but there are a few small horizontal tears at the underarm (about an inch or two long, no discoloration though)! There are a few smaller period repairs on the front, but they've been wonderfully done and blend so well with the plaid pattern as to be unnoticeable unless under scrutiny. There's a faint water spot on the right cap sleeve, close to the fringe trim (does not stick out or detract). There is a thin spot to the silk at the top of the left shoulder, but the thread and pattern is all intact so it's well camouflaged. The bottom button on the bodice needs to be properly re-attached (as someone has affixed it to the top placket instead of the bottom where the rest of the buttons are). The full cotton underskirt is as fresh and supple as new (amazing - there isn't even any wear to the silk hem)! I hope it doesn't sound like a lot, as these things are minor compared to the overall design and era of this wonderful dress - trust me when I say that it is vibrant and looks amazing in person, a rare display museum display piece!


As with any antique garment of this age, for the sake of preserving the garment, I do not recommend it to be worn, though I believe this one could be safely worn for short periods of time, such as for photography or modeling purposes, etc. (regardless, it is always recommended that you be as careful/gentle as possible, as even the most pristine garment of this age has inherent fragilities - please treat tenderly so it can survive another 100+ years)!


MEASUREMENTS (approx. size) -

Bust: 32 inches
Bodice Waist: 22 inches
Hips: full
Full Length: approx 51 inches

MEASUREMENTS of the DRESS FORM -

Neck: 12.5 inches
Bust: 34 inches
Waist: 21 inches
Hips: 38 inches



From Me:

1855 Fashion Plate

The dress looks like it was originally mid 1850's and had some slight edits in the early 1860's. I think it's a young miss dress as the skirt looks "short" to me. Still, it's a lovely dress!

1850's Bodice Redone in the 1860's

From the seller:

1860's Iridescent Silk & Plaid Bodice: This is a beautiful bodice of two types of silk. A bronze iridescent and a blue silk plaid. It has a waist of 24”, and a bust of 32”. It is lined in cotton and was de-accessed from the University of Maryland. The bell shape sleeves are fabulous. The silk has some wear with one inch split on the back. See photo. Most of the hooks and eyes are original, but some are missing and some have been replaced. The underarms are stained and repaired. See photos. This would be good for display, design or education purposes.

From Me:

1854 Fashion Plate

The tiered pagoda sleeves like this were popular in the mid 1850's. The bodice was redone slightly however to give a straight waistline - which is consistent with the mid-1860's styles. It was probably redone about 1864- ten years after it was originally made.

Mid 19th Century Wrapper

From the seller:

A charming 1860’s floral printed cotton antique robe that has been de-accessioned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The fabric has a floral pattern in shades or red, mauve and blue on a cream colored back ground. The robe is decorated with red, tan and teal blue geometric trim. It has pagoda styled sleeves and two side pockets. The armscyes are piped. It has a front button and loop closure. The robe is lined with cotton. It is in very good and sturdy condition. There are several missing buttons and some age discoloration. (See photos.). Loose fitting bust 40 Length from shoulder to hem 55.

From Me:

It's probably a bit earlier - 1850's. Here are some other dressing robes or wrappers that have similar cuts:

• 1850's Wrapper at the Met
• 1840's Dressing robe
• 1850's Dressing Robe

The original image from the Met

This is what the Met had up on this wrapper:

Wrapper Date: 1840–60 Culture: American Medium: cotton Dimensions: Length at CB: 60 in. (152.4 cm) Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. D. Chester Noyes, 1950

So, since the Met agrees with me rather than the seller, I'm putting this in the 1850's.

Striped 1850's Dress

From the seller:

Lustrous cinnamon brown ribbon weave stripe silk ballgown, with matching pelerine, dating to the 1860s. Fetching off the shoulder neckline, prettily trimmed in fringe on pagoda sleeves, with deep v front at piped waist, directional box pleats at waist. Stays at the lace up back, both bodice and skirt lined in cotton, with wool tape floor brush at hem. Matching pelerine trimmed in the fringe and lined. Hand sewn found in New Hampshire. In very good overall condition with some scattered small breaks at hem, tendrils of water marks here and there , slight underarm marks, missing lacings. Chest approx. 32-34", waist 22-24" length from shoulders 51".

From Me:

1857 Fashion Plate

The shoulders of the dress should be just on the shoulders of the mannequin - you can see the creases in the underarm because the dress isn't fitted correctly since the mannequin can't move like a human body can. I love the piecing on this - it's very well done but there is a lot of it if you look at the photos. It's very much mid-1850's in style.