1888 Evening Dress

Making an 1888 Evening Gown?

My dear friend, Rosie, lives in Pittsburgh, where Vince and I will be moving at the end of the summer. She is an avid costumer, like myself, and we are already both scheming about what fun dresses we'll make together. Two autumns ago we participated in an "immersion" event in Gettysburg set in the year 1888 - the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg were coming back to visit. All participants had to stay in character the entire weekend. It was our first immersion event, and we had a BLAST!

So, in honor of the fun we had together dressing in 1880s clothing, we'd like to make bustle dresses to wear to the Opera in Pittsburgh for sometime this winter or spring.

Here are a couple images I'm looking at for inspiration. My 1888 day dress was made from the pattern for an 1887-89 dress from the book "Patterns of Fashion 2" by Janet Arnold (p.38). For a ballgown I'd like to reproduce the style of the dress in "Costume in Detail" by Nancy Bradfield (p.251-254) c.1885-87 Wedding Dress. I'd like to make mine of red-purple changeable silk taffeta.

For the pattern I'm considering the 1880s Evening Bodice Pattern (p. 120 C. Evening Bodice) from "Period Costume for Stage and Screen" by Jean Hunnisett. The c.1886-87 Skirt pattern (p. 127 D. 1886-87 Skirt) is also quite pretty.

My 1888 Day Dress had a built in bustle, like the original in the "Patterns of Fashion" book. It worked out quite well. It held its shape perfectly, was lightweight and very easy to add to the skirt. I may consider making a built in bustle for the evening dress as the original in "Costume in Detail" was made like that.

Mmmm....I think this one's really LOVELY!

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c.1949 Wool Suit

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Pale Pink Beaded Gown

Pattern Drafting Kit

Vintage Silk Screen Book c.1942

1860s Hairstyles

Civil War Era Hairstyles: A Love Hate - Relationship

Isn't that so true? Honestly, most people wouldn't consider hairstyles of the Civil War era the most flattering of all ages. But, if done correctly they can look half decent...maybe even really good if you have an eye for the period.

I love these sumptuous 1860s images of hairstyles. How often do we see reenactors able to replicate these styles accurately? Not very often. It would seem that using false hair is sometimes the key, especially with today's modern short hairstyles.

I remember when I was about 16 and attending one of my first balls in Gettysburg. I had just purchased a beautiful curls made of real hair. We styled my hair for the ball with the curls fastened in.

I was asked to waltz with a handsome 30-something gentleman and right in the midst of the waltz my curls fell off! He picked them up and put them in his pocket. At least he didn't laugh at me! I do believe these things must have happened during the Civil War era as well! The next time I wore the curls I had them much more securely fastened in!

Pattern Website

::: Pattern Website :::

Part of owning your own business involves making your own patterns - to avoid copyright issues and create unique items. One website that I have found helpful is THIS foreign website which I believe is Danish. It's a little challenging to decipher the language - I used www.translate.google.com. It's great to have another source of pattern making ideas. Just seeing the shapes of the pieces involved in making each garment is very helpful. The patterns are graphed and need to be enlarged - probably by hand because not all the lines are perfectly straight (you'll use a ruler or straight edge, I'm sure!).

Enjoy looking at the beautiful garments from the 1700 to the 1980s.
Pattern Website

1860s Dresses

An image of two lovely original 1860s dresses to inspire you today!