#19th century fashion

[heaveninawildflower]

‘Tulipes Hollandaises’ (1889 ).

Cape designed by Charles Frederick Worth for the House of Worth.

Textile designed by A. M. Gourd & Cie.

Silk and metal.

Images and text information courtesy The Met.

[daguerreotyping]

Carte de visite of a French officer with an astonishingly slim waist and what I'm tempted to describe as an upside-down fleur-de-lis goatee, circa 1860s

[die-rosastrasse]

Ball gown, 1840-41

Maker: Unknown

From the collection of Wien Museum

[sartorialadventure]

Imperial court gown worn by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, sister of Tsar Nicholas II, ca. 1890′s-1900′s

[lookingbackatfashionhistory]

• Bridesmaid Dress.

Department Store: A. F. Jammes (United States)

Design House: copy of House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)

Date: 1896

[threadtalk]

Oh, saints. This dress combines so many things I love in one place!

First of all, we’re in the late 1830s (by my guess), a time of dress transition. You can see the influence of the Romantic with those sleeves, but the hint of later Victorian gowns in the bodice shaping. The particular bodice here is fan-pleated, which is pretty self-explanatory if you look at the way the fabric is both pleated and fanned out. I do adore the result. 

But, ahem, that damask? That color? Purple, always. Of course. For a 200 year old dress, the hue is still so striking. It is not Perkins Purple, however, as it’s two decades too early for that.

The weave? I damn near fell out of my chair looking at it. It’s one of those cases where I wish there were even higher resolutions so I could zoom in and see the stitches. Alas, we are not yet there in terms of technology, so I will instead cope with this.

And then it gets better. Because that silk damask? It’s almost 100 years older than the dress itself. UGH I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Could it have been Spitalfields? Maybe! It’s hard to say because we don’t have the provenance. 

From the Maryland Center for History and Culture.

[empirearchives]

EMMA — 2020, dir. Autumn de Wilde

Queen Hortense de Beauharnais in her Private Apartments — 1810, anonymous

[a-hulder]

Red silk velvet dress from the House of Worth with changeable  bodices, c. 1893-95

[historicalcataloguesandplates]

1892 ballgowns

[eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes]

1. are you are into fashion history at all

2. are you queer and/or neurodivergent

trying to prove something

[heaveninawildflower]

Woman’s dress (United States, 1825-1830).

Silk brocaded satin, net trim, and linen lining.

Image and text information courtesy MFA Boston.

[daguerreotyping]

Daguerreotype of two men, affectionately entwined, circa 1845-50. Source: Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 by David Deitcher. This book is also available to read for free on Open Library, though the scan quality is a little rough. I've just acquired a used copy and it's so worth it, not only for the many lovely reproductions but also for Deitcher's writing, which is beautiful and I imagine very relevant to the interests of many viewers of this tumblr:

Anonymity, and the uncertainty it perpetuates, facilitate a kind of pleasure that would be more difficult to sustain under the potentially harsh, and always more limiting, details of a more concrete historical intelligence. Research into the gay history of nineteenth-century London prompted one writer to ask: "Do we view it with dismay, since it is a record of sorrow, of powerlessness, a record of lives wrecked? Or is it possible to read even these texts, written as they were by journalists, policemen and court clerks, with delight, as precious traces of dangerous, pleasurable, complicated gay lives?" Uncertain of anything that actually transpired between the men in such a photograph, the collector is free to imagine whatever he pleases. Immersed in their appearance, he remains ignorant of any tragedy that might have befallen them, or of any crime they may have committed or been punished for.

[die-rosastrasse]

Edward Robert Hughes

British, 1851-1914

Dress details

[sartorialadventure]

Historical costuming by Dr. Christine Na-Eun Millar

(She’s on IG at https://www.instagram.com/sewstine/ ! (Thanks, @lurkingscientist !)

More photos under the cut!

[lookingbackatfashionhistory]

• Wedding veil.

Date: late 19th century

Culture: Czech

Medium: Linen, silk, metal, glass.

[threadtalk]

When you think about wearing a dress to dinner, it probably isn't this extravagant. But for Victorians, dinner gowns were totally a thing. In fact, it wasn't uncommon for ladies of status to change three or four times a day!

This gown is by Emile Pingat, a French designer and contemporary (and competitor) of Charles Frederick Worth. He began his fashion house in the mid-1860s, and went on to dress some of the wealthiest, most sophisticated people in Europe and the Americas.

To me, Pingat is immediately recognizable with his divine details, architectural tailoring, and relatively earthy color palette--lots of black, gold, tan, and neutrals.

This 1885 dinner gown is no exception. It's silk velvet and machine made lace, but all about the details. The lace overlay mimics brocades and damasks, but the extra sheerness makes it extra glimmery. Plus we've also got a train--always a plus. We know it was worn by socialite Mrs. Charles G. Roebling. The gown also has another bodice, as many dresses did during this period.

From the Philadelphia Museum of Art.