This dress is fabulous! What a wonderful piece of inspiration! It’s beautiful!
1901-1911 Dress at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
I absolutely love the subtle use of vibrant teal! It really spices up the dress. The cream satin and chiffon as well as the detailed trim are especially wonderful. The carefully arranged layers are fascinating–they keep your eye moving while managing to not distract from the fabulous fit of the whole dress.
I think this must be one of those Edwardian dresses that has a complicated closure that is hidden under crisscrossing layers. I just can’t imagine any other closure that wouldn’t detract from the beauty of the dress!
I think this is also one of the dresses that has faked layers. It seems to be an illusion that there is a blouse then a vest then a jacket. I think it is probably just one layer with trim and then the outside jacket. It’s so hard to tell from the picture! That’s the beauty of these Edwardian confections… it’s so hard to figure out how they are made and how they close without actually being able to see its inside construction!
I simply adore this dress! I just keep repeating its praise… Beautiful!
Throughout the 19th century, civilian clothing for men and women imitated all sorts of military uniforms in cuts, trim styles, and names. Let’s look at some women’s styles from the the mid-19th century inspired by military wear.
First: the Bolero style jacket
From Peterson's Magazine August 1865
Popular during the mid-19th century, the Bolero is simply a short jacket, usually worn open in front, often fastened at the neck. In the mid-19th century Bolero jackets were worn in all sorts of colors and with all sorts of trim; however, they were often seen in military uniform colors and with trimming styles reminiscent of military trimming, especially braiding.
1863 Bolero from the Metropolitan Museum of Artc. 1860 Dress with Bolero Jacket and braid trimming
Second: the Zouave style jacket
From December 1859 Godey’s Lady’s Book
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a Zouave jacket as follows: “A woman’s short embroidered jacket or bodice, with or without sleeves, resembling the jacket of the Zouave uniform.” The following quotes are included in the OED definition:
1859 Ladies’ Treas. Sept. 285/1 One of the most decided novelties of the present season is the Zouave jacket.
1859 Ladies’ Cabinet Dec. 335/1 Nothing can be prettier for the interior than the little oriental jackets which we call to-day Zouaves.
During the 19th century, this style gained the most popularity during the 1850s, when French Zouaves were fighting in the Crimean War, and during the American Civil War in the 1860s. You can see a few images of Zouave uniforms by looking at this post from a few weeks ago.
The description of the above image from Godey’s is as follows: “Morning-dress for young ladies, of plain merino or cashmere; the skirt trimmed by an inserting of velvet, several shades darker than the dress, with a row of buttons passing through it, and bordered by a rich braid pattern, known as the Greek. The Zouave jacket, which we have before spoken of, forms the waist. It is modelled from the Greek jacket, and has a close vest, with two points; the jacket, itself, rounding over the hips, and fitting easily to the figure. A Gabrielle ruff, and neck-tie finish it.”
Further information about this style was included in the Chitchat section of the same issue of Godey’s: “The Zuoave jackets may be made in black cloth or velvet, for home wear, with skirts whose waists have “outlived their usefulness.” They are especially suitable with dark silks, and a waist of this kind with a black silk skirt will do any amount of street service. Black silks are trimmed with a combination of black and crimson, black and purple, etc. when intended for dress occasions.”
c. 1862 Dress with Bolero from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Given the description (above) from Godey’s about the Zouave jacket fashion plate, I think this c. 1862 dress from the Metropolitan Museum of Art falls into the category of a Zouave jacket rather than a Bolero. Clearly, this yellow dress has a jacket with a double pointed vest silhouette, rather than the Bolero style of the jacket with a blouse underneath. Regardless, this dress is quite fabulous! The pattern matches the trimmings exceptionally well in terms of style, and the whole ensemble is quite wonderful (including the crisscross braiding and tassels!).
The quotes are from the digital Godey’s excerpts at the University of Vermont, which can be viewed here.
I found this dress while browsing the Costume Institute Collection Database at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. It’s beautiful!
It’s actually one of my favorite 1860s dresses from museum collections. Why? Well, the color is particularly striking (it looks like it is constructed of peach/champagne shot silk) and the fullness of skirt makes my heart sing (it’s actually even bigger than the hoops under it, which is why it falls in pleats all the way to the hem).
I also really love the trim! The scale of it is perfect for the 1860s, when trimmings occupied a large portion of the expansive skirts. The bertha and sleeves gracefully complement style of the dress, completing the look. The scalloped arrangement of trim on the skirt and the use of pleating to create the trim all add to my high opinion of this dress. Box pleating of this type was frequently used to adorn and trim garments in the 19th century, but this dress uses this trimming style to better effect than some. (There are close up pictures of the trim below.)
Bertha TrimmingSkirt Trimming
I plan on keeping this dress in mind for future 1860s reproduction dress ideas. I think it would be a fun and fabulous dress to wear to a ball!
Here we finally are, at 1913! Let’s look at some truly lovely pictures!
1913: Wool Suit. Wool Hat with matching Taffeta trim.1913 Suit and Hat1913 Suit and Hat1913 Suit and Hat1913 Suit and Hat1913 Jacket and Hat1913 Skirt, Blouse and Hat1913 Blouse and Hat1913 Undergarments: Corset Cover and Petticoat1913 Undergarments: Chemise and Corset1913 Corset
Well, we just got to see my 1883 tailoring project. Now let’s enjoy taking a mental stroll with my 1903 tailored look! Again, there are lots of pictures to see!
1903: Wool jacket and skirt trimmed with cotton velvet. Velvet covered buckram Hat.1903 Skirt and Jacket1903 Skirt and Jacket1903 Skirt and Jacket1903 Blouse1903 Skirt and Blouse1903 Undergarments: Corset Cover and Petticoat1903 Undergarments1903 Corset Cover1903 Undergarments: Combination and Corset1903 Corset
Oh my goodness my 1883 tailored bustle dress and undergarments are finally finished!!! YAY! Let’s glory in the beautiful pictures and the fabulous clothes… Since I can’t decide which pictures I like best, you get to see more than a few.
1883: Wool skirt and jacket with velvet trim. Wool hat trimmed with velvet and feathers.1883 Bustled Skirt1883 Bustled Skirt1883 Skirt and Jacket1883 Skirt and Jacket1883 Jacket and Hat1883 Undergarments: Petticoat and Corset Cover.1883 Undergarments: Bustle!1883 Undergarments: Chemise and Corset
Finally, here are some pictures of my fitting for my 1913 tailored look!
We’ll start here, where you can see the mostly dressed view. This look is a tailored suit from 1913. In the picture you can see the pleated skirt. I actually wound up making the finished length longer than I originally thought I would.
The skirt is worn with an Edwardian blouse featuring cluny lace, pin tucks, pleats, and pleated cuffs.
To the right you can see the look with the unfinished jacket and hat. The jacket still has a mock-up collar and at this point there is no facing, so the interior canvas is visible on the lapels of the jacket.
This period is a strange mix of Victorian holdover clothing (like the blouse) and 20th century clothing (the tailored suit).
Under the skirt are undergarments that have slimmed down since 1883 and 1903 while still remaining numerous and Victorian in principle. On the left you can see the full length chemise which still features lace, pin tucks, and silk ribbon. The silhouette has narrowed considerably from the Victorian shapes of the 19th century, but the whole look is Victorian, not modern. The corset is much longer at this time, but the bones stop about four inches above the bottom edge so that movement is not impaired. This corset is constructed of a silk/linen blend that is flat lined with coutil. The seams are flat felled on the inside. It is edged in the same fabric cut on the bias. The top edge is also edged with lace and silk ribbon. To the right you can see the corset cover for this look: simple and straight forward, with just a small edge of lace. There is also a matching fabric petticoat for this look. The petticoat (or underskirt) is edged with a pin tucked ruffle and finished at the bottom with matching embroidery. It closes at the waist with a hook and eye. The chemise, petticoat, and corset cover are all constructed of the same ivory cotton.
Well, if you remember from a few posts ago, I completed my mockup undergarments and exterior garments for this 1903 look in muslin (the same fabric I used for the 1883 and 1913 mockups). But now I’ve completed first fittings for my garments in their actual fabrics!
Let’s start at the outside and work our way in. The exterior “suit” is two pieces: a jacket and walking skirt. Both layers are constructed of fairly heavy wool, so tightly woven it is almost like melton. Melton is a felted wool frequently used for outerwear and constantly used historically for it’s water resistance and ability not to fray–thus allowing tailors to leave their cut edges raw and not finish them with time intensive seam finishes. The walking skirt is intended for use out of doors: specifically for talking walks (hence the name) and promenading about in the public eye.
Under the jacket is a silk crepe blouse with a lace yoke, collar, and cuffs. If you look closely you can see the three points of the lace yoke on the blouse. The blouse is pulled off-center in this picture because of the alterations I needed to make-only one side has the alterations pinned.
Under the skirt there is a cream colored lace edged silk shantung petticoat. The petticoat has two circular, gathered ruffles at the bottom. The top ruffle has a wavy hem edged in lace and the bottom ruffle is edged in matching lace. There are also arches of lace above the ruffles.
There is also a cream colored corset cover that is not pictured in these photos. This s-shape corset is made of green silk shantung flat lined with coutil. The seams are flat felled on the inside. The edges are bound in bias cut shantung and the top is also edged with white lace threaded with pink silk ribbon. Under the corset is a cotton combination that buttons up the front. A combination is an undergarment that is functions as a chemise but has bifurcated leg openings, like drawers. This pair is edged in white lace at the leg openings and neck edge. The neck opening is threaded with a green silk ribbon to coordinate with the corset.
I’ve put together my actual fabrics! First to fit is my 1883 undergarments. These garments are essentially finished and ready to be worn.
The first layer is a cotton chemise with intersecting zigzag pattern lace insertion at the hem and simple lace edging around the neck opening and armholes. The tie is navy silk ribbon.
The corset is blue cotton twill flatlined with coutil for stability and grey silk shantung boning channels. The top is edged with black lace and off white silk ribbon. The bust also features cording across the front panels as well as flossing at the top of the boning channels.
It’s hard to see the corset detail in the first picture, so here’s a close-up. You can actually see the cording in this picture. The waistband is decorative as well as helping to cinch in the waist. The top and bottom of the corset are bound in bias silk shantung.
Here’s a small back view as well. It looks like I could have laced the bottom half a little tighter!
The next layer is the cotton corset cover with pin tuck decoration and navy silk ribbon threaded through lace around the neck. The front closes with pearl buttons down the front. You can see the corset cover detail in the two pictures below
After the corset cover is the bustle itself! It is constructed of off-white striped cotton with hoop steel bones inserted into the horizontal channels. The bottom is finished off with a nice box pleat.
Back bustle view on the left!
On the right you can see the pin tuck detail on the corset cover.
After the bustle comes the petticoat! It is constructed of cotton with lace edging. Here’s a front and side view. You can also see the pin tuck detail on the corset cover in the front view bustle picture.
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 