1860s cotton dress

[mala_14]

A question for those in the know: what separates later 1860s cotton print dresses from earlier ones? With the 150th birthday of Canada coming up, my living history group is delving into the 1860s. The exact year is 1867.

I've seen a lot of pictures of ones that look, to my eye anyways, decidedly early 1860s/Civil War era, but nothing that is definitively the latter part of the decade. Most seem to feature gathered (as opposed to darted) bodices and gathered or gauged skirts. I assume that earlier dresses have bigger sleeves (bishop sleeves or coat sleeves that are wider around the elbow) and have skirts that are fuller in the front with gathers, while later dresses would have the narrower sleeves and flatter fronts (pleats or flat) that were in fashion. But all this is somewhat conjectured. Any one have facts?

(Mourning Dress ca.1867 from the Met)

Comments

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

It might be confusing because the Met dress is behind the times for 1867. The new shapes started appearing in the magazines midway through 1864, and that dress, which is lovely, doesn't really show any of them. Your analysis is pretty good.

You're good to stick with a gathered bodice, I think; it's safe, at least. What really sets aside later 1860s from earlier (and I can tell one that's the New Look almost immediately):

* Gored skirt (either slight to extreme, depending on the year), elliptical shape, set in wide box pleats (3" inches or more), with an extra-wide pleat centered in the front.
* Coat sleeves! Bishop sleeves were less typical, and open sleeves disappearing. Both were easy to cut down into coat sleeves to update an older gown; skirts could also be re-set.
* Short little standing collar. Atypical before c. 1864; typical by 1866.

There are also typical trim lines (like a big square; none of that upward curve, and vertical bits closer in to the neck). Any back emphasis, particularly those sashes (which wouldn't work for a cotton print). Actually, be a bit more careful with trimming a cotton; it still tended to be a workaday material, and usually untrimmed or self-trimmed.

Note that sheers have their own rules in the 1850s-60s. They're the wild card. :)

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's super helpful. It's all those little details the really make the difference.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Sure thing! And I'd be happy to help with any specific questions you have later. :)

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

That would be awesome! Thank you! :) I was looking at your Pinterest boards for the 1860s and figured you had a pretty good handle on this stuff.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Hehe... I got into historical sewing via Civil War reenacting, 15+ years ago. So it's my "gateway" period, and the one I know the most about and keep up with the research. My specific knowledge ends about 1865, since everything past that is anachronistic for wartime; but a huge amount of stuff carries over. And what doesn't, I can figure out pretty quickly. :)

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

That's really cool. Getting involved in living history has really shown me, not only how much I have to learn, but also how much other people know. It's really great to connect with people who have so much knowledge to offer, like you! :)

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Aww, wow! But yes, it's really neat to be able to learn from others, and also learn how they did their own research. ACW has some real benefits, because it's really a very short, precise period of time, and it's also well-documented in nearly all areas and socio-economic status. That's not an advantage that Rev War people have.