American Civil War Era Plaid Dress

From theseller:

c.1845- 50's SILK TAFFETA STRIPED LADIES GOWN DRESS PAGODA SLEEVES FOR STUDY DISPLAY

Offering a 1845 - 1850's lady's gown dress blue - tan striped silk taffeta dress, with flared pagoda sleeves, and all hand sewn.

One piece in construction. Decorated with lovely blue fringed trim.

All white streaks or areas that look like fading on material is sunshine.


Recently de-accessioned from the Rochester Historical Society Museum collection in New York state. The gown still retains it's original Museum ID catalog identification tag, sewn inside label.



The bodice is piped at shoulder sleeves armscyes, and at waistline, waistline is gathered with cartilage pleating, all hand sewn. The gown is lined with brown polished cotton in skirt and on bodice. Gown has original front hook and loop closures sewn in material closure. Inside bodice has 4 whale baleen stays. The long arms are flared with pagoda sleeves and ruched in upper arm and pagoda sleeves are lined with a creamed white silk.

The gown is in fair/poor antique condition for study or display only. There is no underarm discoloration stains. There is no underarm discoloration stains. Many splits in the fabric on both armscyes, bodice and body of skirt.



MEASUREMENTS:

Bust 31-1/2", Waist 26", Sleeve length 18", Length from shoulder to front hem 56", Shoulders across back 16", Shoulder to waist 15-1/2", Width circumference at hem line 143".

The gown is in fair/poor antique condition for study or display only. The gown is not wearable. A beautiful display gown.

A hard to come by dress of 166+ years of graceful life.

This is a wonderful piece to add to an early collection.



I have listed other early antique clothing pieces in my ebay store.

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ANTIQUE CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES


We are happy to answer any questions about this item.



Insurance has been added to postage handling charges.

The items I sell are antique or vintage textiles. They are not new and not flawless. If you expect perfection, antique or vintage is NOT for you. The items I sell have been used and loved or stored away for decades. Textiles stored away for decades ALWAYS pick up small oxidation storage spots. Unless stated in description, I have not cleaned the textile and will be up to the buyer to refresh.



From Me:

1860 Fashion Plate

The sleeve style is very similar to the one in the fashion plate - with the puffy gathers at the armscye but a nice wide sleeve still. The waistline looks like it was chopped off - common during this time period since ladies were simply updating their old dresses to the latest styles. My guess is this final product is from about 1864.

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!

American Civil War Era Plaid Dress

From the seller:

A stunning 1860’s brown, black, silver and white plaid silk dress. The bodice has full pagoda styles sleeves. The sleeves are trimmed with pleated black silk ribbon and a bow. The bodice is lined with cotton and has a front button closure. The neck, armscyes and waist are piped. The skirt hemline is trimmed with a wide black silk ruffles. The skirt is fully lined with polished cotton. The dress is in very good and sturdy condition. There are circles of underarm discoloration mostly to the inside lining and a 1 inch split under one arm. Bust 32 Waist 24 Skirt length 41 Width at hemline 142.

From Me:

1863 Fashion Plate

The extant plaid dress sleeves are trimmed similarly to the grey and blue dress above. The lack of a point at the waist (most likely remodeled) points to an 1863 or later date. The pagoda sleeves are finally making the way of the Dodo bird in 1864. The dress is from somewhere in that time period.

1860's Plaid Wrapper Dress

From the seller:

c.1870's SILK TAFFETA PLAID LADIES GOWN FOR STUDY MUSEUM DE-ACCESSIONED

Offering an exceptional late 1870's lady's gown plaid silk taffeta gown, machine sewn and mostly hand sewn. Gown was de-accessioned from the Rochester historical museum in New York state. The gown still retains it's original Museum ID catalog tag, inside as well as string tags.

A fetching 1870’s era brown, black, and dark cream plaid silk taffeta gown. The bodice is piped at armscyes at drop shoulder. The gown is fully lined with a green cotton. Original front black velvet covered button closures and velvet collar and cuffs. Velvet also embellishes either side of fronyt closure and at hem line. The long slender fitted arms are decorated with black velvet cuffs. The skirt is embellished with a hidden slit pocket.

CONDITION: The gown is in poor/fair for study condition. There is no underarm discoloration stains and some damage to the fabric on both armscyes as well as shoulder area.

The skirt is in very fair/poor condition. Lots of scattered splitting along the brown plaid design. Wear top edges of bottom hem as well as scattered holes and splits in skirt with some water stains as shown in photos.




MEASUREMENTS:

Bust 36", Sleeve length 18", Length from shoulder to front hem 50-1/2", Shoulder to back hem 53-1/2", Shoulders across back 18-1/2".

Skirt circumference 115".

In fair/poor, presentable condition and a great display gown for study or display. A beautiful display only gown and not to be worn.

A superb hard to come by dress of 140+ years of graceful life.

This is a wonderful piece to add to an early collection.


From Me:

I can see why the seller thinks it's 1870's but I believe it's really late 1860's.

There is this blue cotton print one from about 1868 that has the straight front, 1860's curved sleeves, but a lot of volume to the back. There is this blue cotton one with blue silk trims at the Met that is unhelpfully classified as "1865-1875". Here's another print one which unhelpfully says "mid -19th century".

Because of the sleeves, the popularity of the wrapper in the 1860's, and cut of the dress (the bustle era starts in the late 1860's), I'm putting this in the late 1860's.

Plaid 1870's Bustle Era Dress

From the seller::

DATING TO THE VICTORIAN 1880’S

TWO PIECE IN ITS CONSTRUCTION

FASHIONED OF PLAID SILK TAFFETA WITH SOLID RED WINE SILK TAFFETA TRIMS

BUTTONS CLOSE THE FRONT AND TRIM THE CUFFS

REAR IN A FULL CAP BUSTLE

DARTS ON EACH SIDE OF THE SKIRTING WITH SOLID TRIMS FULLY AROUND THE BOTTOM

IN STRONG WEARABLE CONDITION. THE PLAID FABRIC HAS SOME SMALL UNUSUAL BREAKS IN THE STRIPES AS PICTURED THAT HAVE LEFT DARKER SPOTS OF BLACK, NOTE THE SKIRT PICTURES IN THE FRONT

FRESH FROM A BOSTON AREA ESTATE




MEASUREMENTS IN INCHES:
BODICE:
CHEST: 32
WAIST: 24
LENGTH: 26 1/2

SKIRT:
WAIST: 28
LENGTH IN FRONT: 40
LENGTH IN REAR: 44


From Me:

1874 Fashion Plate

High necked dresses with contrasting (or sometimes plain white) collars were seen in the 1870's. (Really, I posted the fashion plate because there is a "Ginsie" dog in it!) The basque waist is pretty much a hallmark of the 1870's.