A twenties coat

This is the youngest of my old clothes, and teh straight cut and single button makes me date it to the twenties. It's much larger than the other clothes, so I guess the woman who owned them became a bit fatter when she grew older. I'm not sure of the fabric, it's quite dull, but it's not wool. Silk/cotton, perhaps? It's quite lightweight, definitely not a coat for the cold Swedish winters. It's closed with one big button, and a hook and eye a bit higher up than the button. It's lined with very lightweight black silk. The collar, sleeves and hem are decorated with, well it's not lace, exactly. It's tulle decorated with coils of braid. I've never seen anything similar, actually. It's in great condition except the lining at the neck. My grandmother stored it hanging and that wasn't good for the fragile silk.



Detail of the hem.

A skirt and two petticoats

Skirt in very crisp silk taffeta. Made of straight pieces. Front and back looks the same, The skirt is slightly gathered to the waistband, and then there are three pleats on each side. Unfortunately I didn't managed to take any good pics. I think it may be from around 1910. Like the other skirt it has a very tiny waists, around 50 cm.

A petticoat made of four pieces. Two slightly gored front pieces, and two curved back pieces. Though it's in silk taffeta, it's not as well made as the other clothes. The ruffle is not finsihed, and very uneven, though that can be because it has been worn a lot. The pocket at the hem is not finsihed either. My guess is 189's.

Front is where my son holds it. Lots of fabric in the back.

Detail of pocket and hem.

Detail of inside hem.

A petticoat made of straight pieces, that has been very carefully gathered at the waist. I don't know what kind of fabric it's made off. It's quite sturdy. Early 1900's is my guess.

It has a beautful pocket,

The waist is constructed a bit oddly. I should have taken more pics, but I'll try to explain. The gathers are held in place with two gathering threads, as you can see on the pic. On the inside a tape is sewn to it, ca 5 cm wide. Then the waist band is only sewn to the petticoat with a few stitches. It seems that when it was worn, it must have looked more like a belt, than a waist band.

Actually, I'm not at all sure anymore why I think the last one is a petticoat and not a skirt. I haven't looked carefully on these clothes since I took the photos and that's six years ago. Time to check them out again, I think.

An Edwardian dress, I think

The dress consists of a bodice and a skirt in black, rather dull silk. I think it's Edwardian, but again, I'm not altogether sure. I believe that it's younger than the previous bodice as I know that they have belonged to the same woman and this bodice is considerably larger. Also, the skirt has definitely not been worn with a bustle. The bodice is in very good shape, and very well made. I think it's so beautiful!

The front of the bodice. It closes with hook and eyes off centre. I didn't manage to get a good pic of the collar, but it's high and made of lace without lining. It has stiffening sewn to it at two places so it could stand.


Detail of the front. I think the decoration is just lovely.


The back of the bodice.


On the front the folds on each side of the lace are sewn to the bodice all the way, in fact the closure is hidden behind one of them. On the back, however, they are just stitched to the bodice at the shoulder and hem.

Details of the inside, front. The silk is backed with pretty heavy cotton, and almost all seams are reinforeced with bones in light blue casings. There are no signs of anything altered, or removed. I am, however, at loss of the () shaped seam at the front inside.

The inside of the back. You can see the stiffening on the collar here.

The sleeves are tight, with a small slit at the wrists. The opening is trimmed with very transparent silk.



The inside of the armscye. As you can see the arm in lined with two layers of fabric. I would think it's the same with the rest of the bodice, but that is impossible to see.

The skirt has broad lace insertion down the front, the same as on the bodice. Slightly gored. When I said that the bodice is larger than the other one, it's still tiny. The waist is only 50 centimetres!

Detail of the front.

Detail of inside.

German gown again

After thinking to and fro about a German 16th century gown, I think I have settled for something along the lines of this one.

I like the black brustfleck. Not that I mind the gold brocade ones, I like them a lot, but finding a brocade that I like that I find a bit daunting. I also like the high collar and it’s always fun to make a gown that isn’t the popular choice. It will be a simpler gown, but I can still play around with the sleeves.



I had ordered some black velvet on sale, but it turned out there wasn’t enough left. Instead I have found some nice black wool, which I think will look good.

A Victorian bodice

Late Victorian clothes aren't my strong point, so if you have other ideas on the dating, please tell me. My guess is around 1880-1890. It's in black silk, and it has no boning. From the look of it, there never were any either.

Two pics of the front.The belt is part of the structure and can't be removed.




Detail of the belt.

The back.

The inside, front.

Detail of the pleated basque. The lining of the basque is of a much lighter fabric than the rest of the bodice lining.

The sleeves are plain apart from the small pouffe at the shoulders, and 3/4 long.

There are two small tucks at the wrist.

Plastron, late 19th century

A friend of mine identified this as a plastron. The work on this one is quite similar to the first cape I posted, which makes me think that they are from the same period. It's made of silk, that covers a heavier fabric of some kind, probably to give warmth. The entire surface is covered with rushed ribbons in very transparent silk, and the same kind of silk if used for the ruffle at the ends. There is also a lace insertion, in very beautiful black lace. There is no closure, and though I guess it could be tied, in hangs very well without being so. It shows no signs of being tied either.



The outside, back and end


Detail of the back

The inside, back and end

An Edwardian cape

I have no good reasons to why I think this cape is younger than the other two, but a friend is certain it's early 20th century. It's in excellent condition. It looks brand new, and can't have been worn much. It's made of taffeta, with appliques made of silk velvet. There are also two rows of silk fringe. It's closed with a small clasp set with white stones.



Detail of the front.

Detail of the front's inside. The stitching for the appliques go straight through the lining.

Late 19th century cape

My grandmother had a collection of Victorian clothes that I inherited. She was given them by her neighbours when my Mum was a child, a couple of unmarried sisters that she used to help out. The clothes belonged to their mother, a very wealthy lady that was widowed when she was quite young. The clothes range from late 19th century to a coat from the twenties and there are capes, a gown, a bodice, shawl, a petticoat and the aforementioned coat. I posted photos of them on my Livejournal years ago, but I think you may find it interesting too. Igame heavy, so there will be a number of posts.

First out is a cape in black silk, covered with net. The net is dark brown now, but I'm certain that it was black originally. The net has appliques made of black felt, outlined in a narrow braid. The hem has a ruffle. The edges are trimmed with very thin transparent silk, pleated.



Detail of the back

Detail of the edge

Detail of the edge from the inside. The ruffle has pinked edges.