Wednesday 27 October 2010

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.

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

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The back of the bodice.

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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.
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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.
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The inside of the back. You can see the stiffening on the collar here.
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The sleeves are tight, with a small slit at the wrists. The opening is trimmed with very transparent silk.
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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.
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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!
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Detail of the front.
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Detail of inside.
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4 comments:

Jen Thompson said...

Beautiful dress! Definitely from somewhere around 1905-10. Even though they were owned by the same woman, I am guessing they are from different generations of that family since the previous bodice dates from 30 to 40 years earlier.

Thanks for posting all the detail pics. These are great!

Isis said...

It is, isn't it! I'm glad you enjoy them!

I don't, unfortunately, have anything written down about her, but the original owner died sometime in the 1920's when she was well into her eighties. So she must have been a young woman in the 1870's and I think it is plausible that all the clothes have belonged to her.

Rowenna said...

Thanks for posting--the detail and the workmanship is incredible!

Isis said...

Glad you enjoyed it Rowenna!

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