1832 Dress Ideas

I'm trying to find inspiration for the two 1830s dress lengths I have lying around. I'm tempted to make one of them up in a c.1832 style, and the other closer to the end of the decade (& The Great Sleeve Collapse), but the exact dates are flexible. It's not like I have a particular place to wear them at this point.

This first dress is from my target year. The sleeves look ready to devour the unwary, but I like how the bodice fullness is handled with the wide waistband and low yoke.

Dress, American, 1832. From The Met.

This c. 1830 dress caught my eye due to the shaped jockeys on the sleeves:

Dress, American, c.1830. From The Met.

A bit early, but the cross-over bodice on this 1829 dress is lovely. It's also something I could do in an 1850s dress, so maybe it's not something that I have to work into this project...

Dress, British, 1829. From The Met.

This is brilliant, but I'd want a striped print to really show off the lines on the bodice:

Dress, American, 1832-1853. From The Met.

One of my prints does have similar floral motifs on a cream background like this one. And the horizontal interest on the bodice is handled with softer gathering instead of flat bands, which is an interesting variation.

Dress, American, 1832-1835, from The Met.

A high-necked dress! With no offense intended towards this dress, it has helped me decide that I'd like to make this project a lower neckline.

Dress, American, c. 1830, from The MET.

Surplice bodice and scalloped jockeys. Not sure I could pull it off, but I sort of want to...

Walking dress, British, c.1830, from The MET.

Higher-but-still-open neckline on this one, with some lovely self-fabric bias bands. Definitely keeping the bodice styling in mind, though I find myself put off by the skirt. It reminds me too much of badly done ruffles on c.1860 repros. 

Dress, British, c.1830, from The Met.

The sleeve fullness on this one goes down to the forearm, where it appears to be controlled by smocking or shirring. In addition to the monster sleeves, I like the closely-spaced bias bands around the neck; the remind me of an early 1860s bertha.

Silk and wool dress, c.1830, from LACMA.

This dress has the same color scheme as my other dress length (bright floral print on a black ground), and much more moderate sleeves. I could certainly see myself making up something like this as well as wearing it. Though with that higher waistline, I wonder if this dress isn't more late 1820s...

Dress, c.1830, from LACMA.