Back Detail of the 1912 Tea Gown

A few posts ago, while I was sharing pictures of the Titanic Weekend in April, I included images of the front of  my new 1912 black and ivory silk tea gown and mushroom hat. Unfortunately, I didn’t have good pictures of the back of the dress at that time… but now I do, and it is time to post them!

The back of my 1912 tea gown. I like the belt that crosses and swoops up (hard to see, except that the line of beading is interrupted by the belt) and the side back seams that end in pleats (it looks really cool while I’m walking!).
It’s a little hard to see in the first image, but the side back seams make a few intentional right corners before opening in inverted box pleats that help form the train. Here is a close-up of those seams: unfortunately, they pucker a little in the silk charmeuse because I didn’t think to stabilize them before starting to sew and snip corners… Let that be a lesson to you!
Another view of the back seam and pleats.
Here’s a side view, so you can see the front and the back.
And a recap picture of the mushroom hat.

I was able to wear my freshly painted and moved-button Astorias with this dress and others at Dress U recently, but you’ll have to wait to see pictures of the finished shoes–they’ll be coming in another post soon!

5 thoughts on “Back Detail of the 1912 Tea Gown

  1. Quinn,
    I just saw this amazing Edwardian dress on Ebay and had to share the link with you. You’ll want to see the photos for your research. It’s Item number: 300733023826 and the seller is labellevintage_inc. She describes it as Vintage Edwardian Ivory Lace Peach Silk Satin Glass Beaded Wedding Party Dress and it was made by Mrs. Catherine Donovan who was originally from Ireland and studied fashion in Paris. She owned the couture shop “MRS. C. DONOVAN & CO” which was located at 29 East 55th St.in New York.
    I hope you love the photos as much as I did.
    -Kimberly

    1. OOO!!!! It is SO lovely! I definitely need to add the photos to my body of research. And, I think it might even deserve a post on my blog, with credit to you for bringing it to my attention, of course! It’s really, really pretty! I want it! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing, Kimberly!

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