Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Semi-sheer print dress c. 1865

And now, the final installment of the '65 dress adventure (which included two research posts and was aided by original images from members of the SA).

Reproduction 1865 semi-sheer en tablier dress.
Please excuse the wrinkles; the dress was worn three days in a row and then traveled halfway across the country.
Elements specific to 1865 include:
  • Coat sleeves (open, shirred)
  • Gored skirt, longer and fuller towards the back
  • En Tablier decoration on upper skirt
  • Waistband, slightly elevated
1865 Semi-sheer dress, front view.
Front
Neck ruffle on semi-sheer dress.
Shoulder and neck ruffle
Open shirred coat sleeve.
Sleeve
Upper skirt piece.
En tablier upper
Gored en tablier skirt.
Skirt, side view
The narrow, self-fabric ruffle along the "collar" is seen on some sheer dresses. The bodice and sleeve are self-draped (shirred sleeve design from The Dressmaker's Guide). Gore layout and pocket based on an 1866-1867 dress in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion II; the gore-cutting method is from an 1875 diagram reprinted in the same book--originally from How to Dress Well on 1- a Day, if I recall correctly).  The en tablier piece is my own design, attempting to copy the originals linked previously, particularly this one.

And here's the dress as worn, complete with undersleeves, silk belt, mourning badges, and shawl:
Semi-sheer 1865 dress, worn.
Outside Union Station, Springfield, Ill

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