1860’s tartan taffeta gown
This dress developed out of my new (well, since last May!) interest in my volunteer work at Westfield Heritage Village. There I provide help with the costume department, particularly with the earlier time periods as Georgian, including war of 1812 and Regency, and am on a fast learning curve for the 1860’s. I also work in the Printshop there, learning letterpress printing and demonstrating bookbinding techinques, so I have to have appropriate costumes for that time period as well. It has been a lot of fun, but it could take over my life! and I am struggling to balance things out. I found a bargain (I thought) on the internet, of 15 yards of wonderful rayon taffeta tartan. Once it came, I found it had a gold thread as part of the pattern, not exactly period correct, but colourful for the Christmas season and was given the go-ahead to make a gown.
I chose a fitted jacket and skirt design, suitable for late 50’s-early 60’s, without too many complicated pieces to make the tartan matching difficult. As it was, it wasn’t possible to match exactly, because of the curved seams, but the mis-matches are balanced. If I had included piping (traditional at this time) in all seams, it would have helped to hide this.
The black fringe is classic for this time period, and would have been around the bottom of the jacket too, but I had two points in front and three at the back, and it was a waste of the design to fringe it also. I felt the ribbon line emphasized it nicely.
I wear an appropriate corset, the the traditional red flannel petticoat for warmth (it was freezing the three days at Christmas we were open!), also a cotton petticoat very full, but don’t wear hoops as people who worked in small shops could not navigate in the fashionable hoops. And to tell the truth, a shop girl would not have worn such a dress, but the shop owner might, if she thought herself a bit above the rest!
Chemisette/habit-shirt from Verona lawn, with pleats and embroidery on the stand-up collar. Modern tatting-like lace edging.
I made the undersleeves from fine cotton Verona lawn, embroidered with trapunto and French knots and hand-made buttonholes, and after this photo I added the same lace edging as the chemisette.
Here I am standing outside our Printshop in the gown and ‘elderly ladies cap’!
