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]

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.