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Childrens Fancy Dress Costumes

四月 10th, 2016 ok

Elaborate fancy dress or masquerade parties were popular for children and adults during the reign of Queen Victoria. Featured below are an assortment of extravagant childrens fancy dress costumes for fancy dress in the 1890s. Use any of these fancy dress ideas to create an unusual childrens fancy dress costume.

 

 

LEFT TO RIGHT: 18TH CENTURY FANCY DRESS COSTUME, NAVAL CAPTAIN, 1829 FANCY DRESS GUARDSMAN, 1815 FANCY DRESS, FRENCHWOMAN 1788 FANCY DRESS COSTUME, 18TH CENTURY DUTCH OFFICER COSTUME.

 

 

LEFT TO RIGHT: 1890s DRESS, 18TH CENTURY FANCY DRESS COSTUME, 17TH CENTURY FANCY DRESS, 16TH CENTURY COSTUME, 1820 FANCY DRESS, EARLY 19TH CENTURY COSTUME, 17TH CENTURY FANCY DRESS.

 

 

17TH CENTURY CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, HUSSAR – TIME OF FREDERICK THE GREAT CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, DIRECTOIRE CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, 16TH CENTURY CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, 1825 CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, FRENCH 15TH C CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS, EARLY GERMAN CHILDRENS FANCY DRESS.

1830s Outerwear Victorian Dress

四月 8th, 2016 ok

Pelisses were made to fit the shape exactly and were usually closed from the throat to the feet with buttons or decorative fastenings increasing in size as they descend. Deep epaulettes often fell as low as a half-sleeve and continued behind to meet at the back of the belt. They were trimmed with fur, velvet, or fancy fringe. It was popular to supply the place of a collar on the pelisse by a black collar and white chemissite or a ruff.

At times the sleeves of the pelisse were exceedingly full at the top, and as tight as possible at the lower part of the arm, nearly to the elbow. The sleeves were cut in one continued piece without separation at the elbow. The belt, usually the color of the garment, was very broad and fastened with a gold buckle.

The violet-colored pelisse above is made very plain and fastens imperceptibly down the front of the skirt under a simple rouleau. The body is made to fit close to the shape and is confined round the waist by a belt fastened in front by a gold buckle. The sleeves are finished with worked muslin or blonde ruffles and turned back to the arm. Broad black velvet bands with gold buckles supply the place of bracelets. A black velvet pelerine is added to this pelisse with a double row of rich fringe and is confined down the front by small gold buttons. The pelerine is finished at the throat by a triple ruff of fine lace.

Besides the pelisse there were cloaks, long and flowing, which were much worn for driving and at the opera. By the 1830s, cloaks were made of every kind of stripe and plaid from figured velvet to merinos. The most established form was that of a deep full cape over a very full cloak, both simply gathered round the throat, having the exact appearance of a short petticoat over a long one. For carriage and opera dress cloaks were often lined with plush, and exquisitely embroidered as shown above.

This cloak is of fine cashmere of a drab color and is embroidered with silk in a pattern of blue-bells or single hyacinths and finished round the edge by a rouleau of satin. A double pelerine cape falls over the shoulder. The cloak is lined throughout with blue satin and a triple ruff of lace is worn round the throat. The hat is of black velvet ornamented with matching bows and three aigrettes. The aigrettes consist of dark purple crocuses with grass like foliage.

Celebrate your Wedding

四月 7th, 2016 ok

Top Sale Chinese Style Party Dragon Robe Prom Dress
Sometime soon, you’re going to stand together to make your commitment to each other. In that moment, you’ll remember what brought you together. You’ll smile and think of those little things that make your loved one the only person in this world for you.

Your romance was incomparable and your own vision of marriage distinctive. Shouldn’t your ceremony be as unique as you are?

I created Inclusive Ceremonies in 2006 to help you celebrate your wedding and your life with a truly meaningful ceremony designed just for you. My extensive training and experience as an award-winning, WHOLESALEOLITA® means that I have the tools to create an amazing, one-of-a-kind ceremony that you and your spouse will treasure always and your guests will remember for years to come.

Your ceremony can be anything you want it to be.

I can help you tell your love story, find great readings, and even create custom rituals that will capture the heart and spirit of your relationship.

If you need help writing your vows, I can help you find the right words or I can write custom vows for you.

If you have kids, I’ll show you how including your children in your wedding ceremony is a wonderful way to acknowledge their place in your changing family.

We can also include your guests in your ceremony, so everyone feels truly a part of it.

If you’re a couple bringing together different cultural or religious traditions, I can help you create a balanced ceremony filled with personal meaning.

And if you prefer a completely secular ceremony, I’m a New Jersey Civil Celebrant as well.

It all begins with a conversation.  Let’s talk about your wedding today.

Victorian Dress at the WHOLESALELOLITA

四月 6th, 2016 ok

The WHOLESALELOLITA Victorian dress collection represents the fashions worn by the wealthy in the 19th century, and reflects their lives and aspirations. The clothing featured here also showcases the high level of skill in dressmaking and design carried out by dressmakers and tailors in Victorian times. The degree of workmanship involved in making these clothes meant that they were expensive to make -they were high fashion comparable to today’s haute couture. Very few examples of men’s clothing have survived from this period – generally men’s fashions changed slowly and darker colours were often worn for business and on formal occasions. This meant that even expensive garments could be worn longer and were worn out with day-to-day wear.

The middle classes generally would not wear such high value items such as these. However, the style of these clothes would have spread further than the small social group for whom they were made, much the same as adapted catwalk fashions can be found in high street retailers today. The middle classes could afford to have high fashion copied by local dressmakers and tailors, or made their own new clothes.

The poor would rely on the huge second-hand clothes trade prevalent during the period, spending hours altering old clothes for themselves and their families to make them fit or to make them more fashionable. Clothes could be dyed and the good parts of a garment made into children’s clothes or accessories, and areas of wear could be patched. There was even a market for ragged clothes that had been through several owners – these were still worn by the destitute.

Women’s clothes 1830s-1860s

Women’s skirts swelled between 1840 and 1860. At first the skirts were supported by several petticoats, one of which was of a stiffened silk or of a silk and horsehair fabric, known as crinoline. When the frame of pliable steel hoops was invented in 1856, it was known as the cage crinoline. It would have been very heavy and cumbersome to wear a full-length coat over a crinoline skirt, so mantles, shawls or short jackets were more convenient for outdoor wear. Fibres used were all natural ones such as cotton, wool and silk. Making the very tight bodices and sleeves of women’s dresses required far more skill than the straight-seamed skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

Women’s clothes 1860s-1890s

In the late 1860s the fullness of the very large crinoline was moved to the back of the skirt and trailed behind the wearer. The back of the skirt was swept up into a bustle in the 1870s, held out over a pad or frame and allowed to flow down into a short train. To make this type of skirt requires many hours of skilled work.

In the last decade of Queen Victoria’s reign, women’s clothes were plainer, and the bustle smaller. Day dresses show that women were leading rather more active lives. However the dresses of the 1890s, with their very small waists and need for tight stays, still restricted movement. Many of the bodices and blouses had high necks stiffened with bones or wire. The chin had to he held up and the hair was puffed out and topped with a large hat, secured with a hat pin. Evening dresses were made from luxurious, heavy silks and had boned bodices and trains.

 

 

 

 

 

Aesthetic dress in the 19th century

In the mid nineteenth century, the group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood used medieval and Renaissance-style dress in their paintings. They designed theatrical costumes which were intended to be both historically accurate and graceful. Several of them, actresses and others with artistic leanings, took to wearing such clothes all the time. Gradually the style took a definite form of its own which marked the wearer as being ‘artistic’. This style was also known as ‘aesthetic’ dress.

Members of societies such as the Dress Reform Movement and the Healthy and Artistic Dress Union were critical of heavy restrictive clothing and tight corsets, which they thought unhealthy and lacking in grace. They favoured making garments from washable fabrics and making dress healthier in other ways. Some enthusiastic dress reformers advocated woollen underwear in the belief that it allowed the skin to breathe better than other fabrics.

Dressed for Dinner in 1860

四月 5th, 2016 ok

The latest styles of dinner dresses in 1860.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

“If a dinner party be the occasion, when dinner is announced, the master offers his arm to the lady first in rank, and either himself or the mistress of the house will specify who shall follow, according to precedence, or age; or else the married before the single; or those who are likely to be most agreeable to one another; or those who are the greatest strangers in the house. If the dining room is downstairs, give the lady the wall; but if you pass merely from one room to another, offer the left arm to the lady. Ever remember that it is the lady who at all times takes precedence.”

[From Etiquette: Social Ethics and the Courtesies of Society, 1854]

To the left is an 1860 green taffeta dinner dress with an open body edged by a plissé of shaded ribbon. The bell sleeves, with epaulets, are trimmed the same as the bodice. A wider trimming is placed above the hem of the skirt. The hairstyle incorporates cerise velvet and black lace with roses.

The 1860s dinner dress to the right is of grey moiré taffeta with rose colored buttons, ceinture of the same color of taffeta with long ends. The bodice features the very wide sleeves of the period lined with white and edged by rose colored guimp. The skirt is ornamented by three rows of the same guimp in a wave. The hairstyle features rose colored velvet.

The center dinner dress is of pink taffeta with the skirt ornamented by five flounces headed by black velvet. The bodice features a button closing with loose hanging sleeves. The sleeves have the same frills as the skirt. The coiffure features matching ribbon.

To the right is a dinner dress of green satin, ornamented by bouillons en tablier and macarons of black lace up the center. The high bodice also features bouillons and lace. The tight sleeves have bouillons on the top. The hair is styled in thick ringlets.

1870s Victorian Fashion

四月 4th, 2016 ok
Fashions of the 1870s were elaborately made and richly trimmed; volumes of material were used with flounce over flounce and tunic over tunic. In spite of the abandonment of the mid-nineteenth century crinoline’s monstrous bell-shaped curves, the 1870s woman was still unable to reap the full benefit of her emancipation. She could not dispense with a redundancy in some part or other of her attire. In the early 1870s the skirt, its front almost straight, blossomed out behind into a mountainous mass of folds. It was lavishly decorated with horizontal panels, finished at the hem with vertical pleating and trimmed with several wide flounces of lace or tucked and ruched bands of its own material.
Gray figured silk three piece 1870s dress with brown and white woven flower sprays. There is a long sleeve bodice, an ribbon trimmed overskirt and a fully lined skirt. The bodice and sleeves are lined with ivory linen. The front bodice fastens with hooks and has six gray silk decorative buttons. The overskirt and bodice are trimmed with wide brown silk ribbon.
These backward-drawn draperies were accentuated by the little “coat-tail” effect of the bodice, or by sash ends, tied in large bows, which appeared to hold up a vast puff of drapery, or by frills or ruffles, across the back of the skirt. The polonaise itself emphasized this line, being drawn up in multitudinous rich folds, sometimes set off with a little bow at the back of the waist, of which the ends cascaded formally, down over the loopings beneath.

Victorian Dress
1875 FASHION PLATE

LEFT: The ball dress is composed of a trained skirt of white silk, covered entirely with plaited flounces of white gauze; a drapery of blue silk, placed en tablier, is trimmed round with wide blonde or point d’Alencon, the heading to which is a wreath of pink roses with foliage. The body, “Isabeau,” is laced up the back with flat basques rounded front and back, and raised slightly on the hips, trimmed all round with blonde or lace; a large bouquet is placed at the back on the basque, just above the lace, from which falls a long wreath of roses, reaching nearly to the bottom flounce. Low round body, trimmed with a berthe of lace or blonde, and a wreath of roses, with bouquet of the same in front and on the shoulders. Chemisette of plaited gauze, drawn with a fine silk cord. Necklace, three rows of pearls. Coiffure a I’antique with wreath of roses and trail. Half long gloves. “Louis XV” fan, and shoes of white silk with blonde bows and roses.

RIGHT: Toilette of faille jonquille and blonde worked with white jet. The trained skirt is set in at the waist in four double plaits, very deep, forming a fan to the bottom of the skirt; two wide bows and square ends, simply crossed and edged with narrow blonde, placed just below the basque at the back. The front is plaited horizontally, trimmed up each side with a wide bouillonne of the silk edged with double plaitings of silk and blonde. The low round body is laced up the back, and pointed in front; the basque is plain and round at the back, and hangs in a long end on each side, edged round with wide blonde, an elegant wreath of mountain ash falling down the center. The body is trimmed round the top with a bouillonne of silk edged with blonde, a wreath of mountain ash with bouquets of the same on the shoulders and in front. Chemisette of plaited crape. Headdress, diadem of flowers with trail falling over the back hair. “Louis XV” shoes of satin, trimmed with blonde. White kid gloves fastened with eight buttons.
Silk, velvet, beads, and fur were used, including yards of flossy silk fringe. Buttons were fancy with a silk network over them. A great deal of piece-velvet of the same color as the dress was introduced; bands of velvet some half-yard deep were carried across the front breadths, confining the fullness at the back, where they terminated in bows and sash ends.
Victorian dress from “Embellishments: Constructing Victorian Detail”, a beautifully illustrated book that helps you see Victorian fashion in a whole new way. [Photograph: Brian Smestad]
Victorian Dress

The skirts were inordinately long and were tied back tightly, giving the appearance of swathing the figure in front. The flounces on the skirt were generally wide at the back and gathered, being edged with narrow frills, plaited all one way and caught down only half the length. Puffings at the side were sometimes used, in addition to side trimmings.

At times, the bodices had basques, and were generally made as sleeveless jackets of velvet or of the shade of the material intermixed with the rest of the costume. Sometimes they had revers, or pointed collars at the throat, made of plaited silk, or they were fastened down the front with bands and buttons crossing each other. Violin backs were also the fashion, that is, a piece in the V shape, differing from the rest, and introduced into the back. The sleeves were fit closely to the arm, with cuffs and buttons.

Photograph of Mrs. Algernon Sartoris (Nellie Grant) taken between 1870 and 1880. [Library of Congress Number: LC-DIG-cwpbh-03723]
Victorian Cotton Dress, 1875–85. [Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Gift of Richard Martin, 1993. Accession Number: 1993.35.1a–c. Metropolitan Museum of Art – Gallery Images, www.metmuseum.org]
Victorian Dress1875 FASHION PLATE

LEFT: Toilette of grey silk. The skirt, slightly trained, is trimmed at the back with one wide crossway flounce, quite scanty, surmounted by three narrow bouillonnes. Rather more than half way up, between these and the waist are placed three more bouillonnes the same width, drawn just tight enough to form a slight pouff below the waist. High plain body, forme “Princesse” in front en tablier quite flat, trimmed at each side with beaded passementerie a shade or two darker than the silk. The body is made with revers, trimmed with passementerie, as is the back, round the arm-holes and collar. At the back of the waist, which is round, are placed two long loop bows of silk, with crossing of the same. The sleeves, which are plain, and fitting at the top, are trimmed with two wide frills of plaited silk falling over the hand, with a heading of passementerie. Undersleeves and frill of plaited muslin. Black felt hat, trimmed with a dahlia in front and long grey feather.

RIGHT: Costume of velvet and silk, for slight mourning. Dress of black silk, slightly trained, trimmed with a wide plaited flounce, surmounted by three narrow bouillonnes. A little above is a second flounce, also plaited, but not more than half the width, with three narrow bouillonnes. The “Princesse” body has a short rounded basque at the back, open with revers in front, fastened with buttons to the bottom of the tablier, which reaches to the top of the lower flounce. The tablier is trimmed with two narrow plaited flounces of faille, the same trimming carried round the basque, which is held up by a sash of velvet made with two very long hanging bows and two wide ends cut crossway at the ends, but perfectly plain. A frill of plaited silk round the opening of the body, with one of muslin under. The sleeves, which, like the body and tablier, are of black velvet, are plain and nearly tight; they are trimmed from the wrist with four narrow bouillonnes of silk, and a rosette of the same at the wrist and elbow. Undersleeve of plaited muslin. “Marie Stuart” toque of black velvet trimmed with a bouillonne of faille and jet fringe; long veil of crepe lisse.

Victorian Dress

The robe a la polonaise had almost an eighteenth-century flavor, its closely fitted bodice and looped-up skirt (frequently held by large bows of rich ribbon with hanging ends) over a contrasting underskirt giving an effect not unlike the pannier dresses of the eighteenth century.

The use of broad and handsome ribbons, in profusion, was very customary at this time; and narrower ribbons, pleated or ruched, tied with fringe, innumerable small buttons, and elaborate braiding in the trimming of all garments.

It fell to the beautiful Alexandra, Princess of Wales, to inaugurate the next marked change in the mode. The robe a la Princesse, with its slim waist at the natural level and slender flowing lines, may be attributed directly to her taste. The suavity and grace of this new mode, as contrasted with the extravagances of the crinoline, maintained their influence for many years, although by the early eighties bustles had returned to mar the earlier simplicity. The Princess robe, strictly speaking, was cut without any seam at the waist, and molded the figure from neck to hip, where it flowed on in sweeping draperies; but the influence of this style was so strong that even when a dress was made with a separate bodice and skirt the line remained essentially the same, with its smoothly fitted sweep from shoulder to hip, no matter how elaborate the drapings of the skirt might be. From 1875 onwards this feeling is strongly stressed.

Photograph of Mrs. Algernon Sartoris (Nellie Grant) taken between 1870 and 1880. [Library of Congress Number: LC-DIG-cwpbh-03778]
Victorian Dress1876 FASHION PLATE

LEFT: Toilette de chateau, composed of rose-colored poult de soie, and a very pale salmon figured cashmere. The skirt is of silk and trimmed round with a plaited flounce, gradually increasing in width at the back breadths. “Princesse” polonaise of cashmere, very long, and trimmed round the bottom with a fancy galon and ball fringe. The polonaise is made to fit by seams, and is buttoned down the front. The upper part of the side breadths is gathered under the back, so as to slightly drape. The back breadths are fastened at the waist, and hang down between, and are trimmed with galon. This galon meets at the waist, and is carried over the shoulders en bretelles, and down the front with a pink silk revers. The sleeves are open at the back, trimmed round with galon over a pink silk cuff, which is laid on in plaits behind, showing through the opening, at the bottom of which they are held together by a narrow bias band. “Watteau” bonnet of pink silk, the crown nearly covered with feathers; the brim trimmed underneath with lace and hortensia. Cream-colored lace is put full across the back, and forms strings, which cross in front.

RIGHT: Costume of faille and crepon de Chine, of a mauve color, trimmed with velvet of a deeper shade. The skirt is of silk, and has a flounce made in plaits, caught two together by a kind of small puff nearly in the center. The width of the flounce is increased towards the back. Tablier draped in plaits at the sides, and trimmed down the front with three velvet bows. Two pointed ends, trimmed round with velvet, matching the tablier, are formed into long bows and ends at the back. Long wide velvet bows and ends at the side. Corsage buttoned in front, made with a plain basque, simply trimmed with two rows of bias velvet, and with two bows in front. Tight sleeve, ending in a wide double cuff, with a band of velvet fastened under a bow at the back. Capote of China crape, trimmed with velvet and feathers, and a bird placed on one side. A plaiting of crepe lisse is placed round under the brim.

The Crinoline or Hoop Skirt

四月 3rd, 2016 ok
 

The 1800s crinoline, also called a hoop skirt or extension skirt, was  inspired by the open cage or frame style of the 16th and 17th century farthingale and the 18th century pannier. The Victorian crinoline developed various appearances over it’s fashion lifetime as a result of new designs and methods of manufacture.
Crinoline - Victorian clothing
victorian crinoline The word crinoline originally referred to a stiff fabric with a weft of horse hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread (the Latin crinis meaning hair and linum meaning flax). This fabric made its first appearance in fashion in the 1830s when it was used in women’s petticoats to support and shape the growing length and diameter of the early Victorian dress. Often a petticoat of this stiffened fabric was worn with up to six starched petticoats in an attempt to achieve the big skirt effect; these tangling petticoats were heavy, bulky and generally uncomfortable.
victorian ball gown
The heavy folds of velvet fabric of this Victorian ball gown are supported by a hoop skirt. At its peak in size, the crinoline reached a diameter of up to 180 centimeters, almost six feet.
hoop skirtNext rings of stiffened cord encircling the petticoat were tried. These corded skirts were too heavy, thus unable to support their own weight.  During the 1850s the extension skirt was developed with rigidity added to the skirt in the form of cane and whalebone hoops.  These hoops created the desired width but were too easily broken.  Subsequently thin strips of brass replaced the cane but the brass did not possess sufficient elasticity to enable the skirt to resume its rounded form after being submitted to considerable pressure.

Ultimately hoops of flattened steel wire were employed to stiffen the “extension skirts” of the late 1850s and were found to be lighter than hoop skirtcane or brass hoops. Furthermore, the flattened steel wire was so elastic and strong that it could be severely bent (going through doorways or sitting), and yet the skirt would spring back to its original shape. The cage crinoline was adopted with enthusiasm; it was light and only required one or two petticoats worn over the top to prevent the steel bands from appearing as ridges in the skirt. At its peak in size, the crinoline reached a diameter of up to 180 centimeters, almost six feet.  The wearing of the crinoline was a fashion that was adopted by all classes, and worn by both women and young girls.
19th century hoop skirt
MID-19th CENTURY CRINOLINE OR HOOP SKIRT
[Photo Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art Gallery Collection
hoop skirt
MID-19th CENTURY CAGE CRINOLINE OR HOOP SKIRT
[Photo Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art Gallery Collection,
The best steel for making the wire for the crinoline cage came from England, in the form of coiled rods, of about ¾ of an inch in thickness. The first operation to which it was submitted, was heating it to about a bright red heat in a furnace hoop skirtadapted for the purpose, by which it was softened. It was next scoured with acid, to remove all oxide from its surface, after which it was coated with rye flour and dried in a special apparatus. Next the steel rod was reduced in diameter, while at the same time greatly extending its length until it became a No. 19 wire in size, and had been extended in length from a few yards to no less than two thousand yards.  After having been reduced to the requisite size it was flattened by drawing it from one reel and winding it upon another, then hardened and tempered. Lastly yarn was braided around the wire, and then sent to the warehouse to be placed in skirts. No less than 60,000 yards of flattened steel wire were made and covered daily in this operation. These covered wire hoops were suspended by tapes in the form of a skirt, descending in increasing diameters from a band worn around the woman’s waist.
MID-19th CENTURY CRINOLINE
hoop skirt
DOUGLAS & SHERWOOD’S PATENT ADJUSTABLE BUSTLE AND SKIRT – 1858

They are made of fine cloth. The Bustle is of fine whalebone, extending part of the way round the skirt; at their ends are eyelets, through which a corset lace is passed.

GODEY’S LADY’S BOOK, 1858
In 1858, Douglas & Sherwood referred to themselves as a “manufactory of hooped skirts” with almost four hundred young women employed in their factory. They advertised their new style, the “Adjustable Bustle and Skirt” in the February 1858 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine; the bustle was made with “round whalebone.”  Later that year, Douglas & Sherwood introduced their “Balmoral Skirt” which combined both the hoop and a woolen, red and black graduated stripe skirt.
MID-19th CENTURY CRINOLINE
MID-19th CENTURY CRINOLINE OR HOOP SKIRT
[Photo Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art Gallery Collection
hoop skirt
DOUGLAS & SHERWOOD’S NEW EXPANSION  SKIRT (HOOP SKIRT)- 1858
Balmoral hoop skirt
DOUGLAS & SHERWOOD’S PATENT BALMORAL HOOP SKIRT – 1858
Balmoral hoop skirt
The “Highland” costume was featured in Peterson’s Magazine in 1861. With this dress, a Balmoral hoop skirt was indispensable. Some ladies made the petticoat of plain gray flannel, and ornamented it with rows of red cloth or flannel.
In 1859, Osborn & Vincent of New York listed itself as the owners of the extension skirt patent. Their most popular skirts in 1859 were the “Imperial Skirt” and their new “Champion Belle.” The latter extension skirt was described as “exceedingly light and graceful,” as well as “extremely flexible and convenient in carriages, cars, and stages.” In an advertisement, Osborn & Vincent listed the many manufacturers and dealers of the extension skirt using their patent:
hoop skirtDouglas & Sherwood, W.S. & C.H. Thomson, J. Wilcox & Co., Wallace & Sons, Arms Brothers, J.P. Moran & Co., C. L. Harding, S. H. Doughty, Chas. A. Postley, R. France, Theodore Schmidt, Ernest L. Schmidt, H. S. Hewson, Chas. P. Colt, John Holmes, J. & W. Beck, H. G. McKenna, Frost & Co., G. M. Jacobs & Co., Jos. B. Wesley, Moritz Cohen, Emanuel Mandel, Stein & Stern, David Henius, Fisher & Herman, Union Skirt Company.
Hoop Skirts
hoop skirtGodey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine in 1859 provided a picture of “The Woven Extension Skirt” saying that it was impossible to rip or tear the tapes “as they were wove in the springs.”  Also in 1859, J. Holmes & Co. stated that in spite of its lightness and compactness, an extension skirt’s primary concern was “easy adjustability into smaller space for the parlor or expansion into ample dimension for the promenade.” J. Holmes & Co. introduced their new patent extension skirt with a system of clasps and slides; this skirt had a watch spring bustle wrought into the skirt, forming a uniform bishop shape throwing the fullness at the back, and hanging gracefully straight in the front.
Victorian clothing
The crinoline reached its maximum dimensions by 1860 but then gradually began to change. An 1860 ladies’ magazine referred to the crinoline as “bird cagey contrivances.”
www.victoriana.comThe crinoline reached its maximum dimensions by 1860 but then gradually began to change. An 1860 ladies’ magazine referred to the crinoline as “bird cagey contrivances” and stated,  “The pyramidal crinoline, diminished in size but in demi-train, is in favor.”  In 1862, the English Woman’s Domestic Magazine recommended the W.S. Thomson crinoline to “those ladies who prefer the open petticoats, or cages.” Over 2,000 workers were employed in Thomson’s London location, producing 4,000 crinoline cages a day. According to the magazine, Thomson’s crinolines possessed two advantages over other manufactured skirts: “the binding on which the steels are threaded cannot break in consequence of it being so broad; and the eyelet-holes do not wear away the tape so quickly as do the metal claws usually used to secure the steels in their places.”  Furthermore, the back of the jupon of the Thomson crinoline was threaded in the shape of a gore, to suit the fashionable train skirts. The upper half of the back part of the crinoline was made with a small inside one which passed half way round; but being smaller than the outside, threw the skirt off behind in a demi-train.
Victorian clothing
By them middle of the 1860s, the dome-like shape of a women’s skirt decreased with the volume disappearing in the front and gathering at the back.  In 1865, A.T. Stewart advertised a “Bon-Ton Skirt,” a wire flexible spring skirt that kept the front of the skirt “fitting closely to the form.”  By 1867, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine decided that “ladies enjoyed more advantages respecting dress – close and flowing sleeves, short and long skirts, tight-fitting, case like dresses, others with plaits at the back . . . waists fitting corset-like over the hips, hoops clinging to the figure, and the positive extreme bustles!”  The pannier fullness at the back was made to curve gracefully with the front of the skirt perfectly straight, fitting smoothly over the figure.
hoop skirt

THOMSON’S CRINOLINE,
Late 1860s

Label reads: Prize Medal Skirt. By Her Majesty’s Royal Patent Registered Trade Mark 20 the royal coat of arms and a crown printed on the herringbone woven tape waistband, vertical herringbone woven tapes 1 inch; 2.5 cm wide, fastened to the hoops with brass eyelets, the front two crossing, nineteen cotton covered steel adjustable hoops, height 32 inches; 82 cm; diameter approximately 2 feet; 60 cm.  Available for purchase from Meg Andrews at www.meg-andrews.com.
crinoline
hoop skirts
In 1868, a Boston Massachusetts’ store advertised latest styles of “wire skirts.” Prices of the hoop skirts varied according to the number of springs, which ranged from 18 to 50 springs.
  • Twenty spring, wide tape, heavy wire Skirts for……….62 cents
  • Twenty-five spring, wide tape, heavy wire Skirts……….75 cents
  • Thirty spring, wide tape, heavy wire Skirts……….87 cents
  • Twenty spring, seven wide tapes, heavy bottom wire Skirt……….$1.00
  • Twenty-five spring, seven wide tapes, heavy bottom, two yards to two and three-fourths yards……….1.12
  • Thirty spring, seven wide tapes, heavy bottom, two yards to two and three-fourth yards……….1.25
  • Forty spring, seven wide tapes, heavy bottom, former price $1.75, now……….1.50
  • Fifty spring, seven 2-inch tapes, former price $1.75, now……….1.50
  • Twenty-two spring, wide tape and gored, thirty-three inches long……….1.12
  • Twenty-three spring Skirts, six wide tapes, double fastenings, only……….1.00
  • Eighteen spring Skirts, heavy wire, thirty-two to thirty-five inches long……….85 cents
  • Twenty-seven spring Skirts, with six wide tapes, (new style)……….$1.12
  • Thirty-three spring Skirts, seven tapes and gored, extra long, thirty-eight to forty-two inches……….1.37
  • Twenty-eight spring Skirts, extra long, former price $1.50, now……….1.25
  • Twenty-three spring Skirts, extra long, different sizes round……….1.12
  • Twenty five spring Skirts, extra size waist, twenty-eight to thirty-six inch belts……….1.25
In 1868, Harper’s Bazaar spoke of the new “Winged Lace” skirt in which the upper part of the under-skirt was laced together, then came a few hoops, and below there was the open winged front. This style prevented the feet from becoming entangled in the skirt.  The skirt measured 85 inches in circumference; could be put in the tub and washed thoroughly; with a retail price of $3.00. Lastly in 1868, Arthur’s Home Magazine reported, “The fickle goddess appears to have decreed as follows . . . there shall be abundance of crinoline, or bustle, or panier, or tournure (for the bunch at the back goes by a variety of names), just below the waist, but that there should be little on none at the lower half of the skirt.”

The Archduchess Marie Antoinette

四月 2nd, 2016 ok

Emperor Francis and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria Ruled over a large area  of central Europe . Maria Theresa, who had inherited the throne from her father, was a strong and determined woman. On the night of November 2.1755, she took a break from her reports and other government paperwork when her labor pains grew too strong. In the evening ,she gave birth to Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna . Emperor Francis Announced the Arrival  of his daughter to the members of his royal cour  gathered at their palace in Vienna.

Maria  Antonia joined a household already full of  archdukes and archduchesses —-four brothers and seven sisters. Another brother would be born the following year! It was royal tradition to give all the archduchesses the first name “Maria”. The girls were called by their second names, so Maria Antonia’s parents called her Antonia.

The family spent winters at their place in the heart of the city.In the spring and summer, however, they moved to another enormous palace about five miles away.Decorated with mirrors, painted ceilings and tapestries on the walls, this palace had many rooms for each child .It was surrounded by the gardens and woods of a five-hundred-acre park. There was even a zoo with a camel puma, and rhinoceros.

Even thouth Austria had an emperor and an empress Maria Theresa was the ruler. Her husband , Francis, simply assisted her. Empress Maria Theresa was much too buys to watch her children. so she hired governesses to take care of them and tutors to teach them. As royalty the archdukes and archduchesses  lived a glamorous life. For fun ,they spent hours riding horses and hunting. During the cold Austrian winters ,they rode swan-shaped sleds through the snow.

Antonia spent more time playing on the place grounds than paying  attention to her lesson. She had a beautiful voice and performed in family concerts, singing while her brothers and sisters played the music.

In 1762, when antonia was six years old, a special musician visited the royal family in Vienna. His name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . Mozart was the same age as  Antonia. Stories say that the little musician lipped on the well-polished floor of the palace. When Antonia helped him up, Mozart declared that he wanted to marry her.

Antoia’s father, the emperor, died in August 1765.Antonia was only nine years old. The empress, now ruling with her oldest son, Joseph, had a new focus. She was determined to arrange good marriages for her daughters.At the time , royal marriages were very important. Royal couples did not marry each other for love.They married to strengthen the bond between two countries so that the countries would support each other, especially during times of war. Maria Theresa especially wanted to marry one of her daughters to Louis Augueste, the future king of France.

Austria And France had a history of conflict. More recently , however , the two countries were at peace. Maria Theresa Thought a marriage between her own family — the Habsburgs–and the French Bourbon family would strengthen the ties between them. Antonia was the best choice for marriage. She was closest in age to the dauphin.

The French agreed to the marriage, so the empress began to prepare ther daughter. She hired a ballet teacher to help Antonia move more gracefully. A Frenchman straightened Antonia’s crooked teeth with wires. A hairdresser from Paris styled her hair in the most modern ways.

France also sent a tutor, Abbe de Vermond , to the imperial palace in 1768. When Vermond met Antonia he observed,” She has most graceful figure; holds herself well; and if .. she grows a little taller. she will possess every good quality one could wish for in a great priness.”

The thirteen-year-old archduchess was certainly charming , with her blue eyes, blond hair, and pink-and-white skin. Yet Vermond soon discovered that she knew very little. Her tutors had let her do whatever she wanted. So Vermond now made Antonia study religion.French literature, French history, and the French  language.

Antonia was growing into a fine young lady, worthy to be the new French princess.

 

Who was Marie Antoinette

四月 1st, 2016 ok

On April 21, 1770, fifteen-year-old Marie Antoinette left home and traveled to France. She had always lived a royal life . Her prents were the emperor and empress of Austria.The young archduchess was leaving behind her beloved homeland. She was engaged to marry Louis Auguste,the future king of France.

Marie Antoinette rode in a jeweled coach amid a parade of more than fifty other carriages. Hairdressers, chefs, and other attendants traveled with her for the two-and-a-half-week journey.Peasants cheered along the road between Vienna, Austria , and Strasbourg ,France.They hoped to catch  a glimpse of the young  bride-to-be.

The royal procession reached the Rhine River, where a new building stood on an island. Marie Antoinette said good-bye to the Austrian people who had traveled with her.When she entered the building,she had to take off all of her Austrian clothes.She was given a French Gown made of golden Fabric.She wasn’t allowed to bring anything from Austria into France,not even Mops, Her  little pug dog.

In an official ceremony ,she was handed over to the French. When she opened the doors on the side of the building that face France, crowds of noblemen and noblewomen greeted her. Marie Antoinette cried , but she tried to be brave.The whole city of Strasbourg held a holiday in Marie Antoinette’s honor. A French procession of carriages then carried the to her new busband and her new life at the grand palace of Versailles (ver-SIGH).

Marie Antoinette Became the queen of France while still only a teenager.She had no idea how to be a good leader. Many people in france were poor. They had to pay high taxes. Their Taxes went to the royal family. Some of the money was spent running the government.But plenty was also spent on gowns, jewels , parties, and fancy palaces. The common people became angry with their king and queen for wasting money while they had so little. By the end of Marie Antoinette’s life. the French people were cheering for her death.

More fancy  Marie Antoinette Dresses  in  the wholesalelolita.com

Civil War Quilts

四月 1st, 2016 ok

Civil War quilts played important roles in both the North and South.They were used in the hospital, on the battlefield, and on the home front, but an important question remains:

Were they actually used as flags on the Underground Railroad?

Quilt Patterns and Materials

When examining vintage quilts, it is important to remember that the ones that survive were special and generally do not represent daily life.

Autograph quilts were a popular memento, so many of those survive, but utility quilts had simple designs.

Old dresses and other articles of clothing were recycled into Civil War quilts so that nothing went to waste.

If you are planning to make reproduction Victorian quilts, keep in mind that Turkey red and Prussian blue were commonly available dyes. The only shades of purple available were pale and brownish.

Also, Victorian women were proud of their new and expensive sewing machines, so they did not try to hide machine stitches!

The Underground Railroad

The metaphoric Underground Railroad was a widespread system of safe houses where fugitive slaves could hide while traveling north.

There is a popular belief that quilts were used to signal hidden messages, but no first-hand African-American accounts mention quilts.

There is also a mistaken belief that the log cabin quilt pattern was used as a signal, but it was most popular between 1870 and 1920, after the Civil War. The earliest reference to such as pattern is in connection with Union fundraisers in 1863 when the Underground Railroad escape routes were no longer operating. My source for these facts is Quilts from the Civil War by Barbara Brackman.

It is more accurate to view the log cabin quilt pattern as a sign of allegiance to President Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin. This design became a memorial to the assassinated president, so that is why it was not made in former Confederate states. They did not care to mourn the president whose election caused war to start.

Quilt Use and Abuse

Quilting therapy and knitting socks helped the women left at home to deal with the difficult times. It was something useful and expressive to work on while the loved ones were away.

While some quilts were made with the hope of nursing the sick and wounded, other quilts were stitched to auction off as fundraisers for women’s groups raising money in support of the war.

Many quilts were also used to wrap family treasures hidden inside chests or attics or more unusual places like caves, wells, or buried under logs. Some developed stains from the harsh storage. Others were used by soldiers as a poncho or wrap, or torn up and used for bandages.

Unfortunately, quilts could spread diseases like typhus, so even those that were not torn up may have been destroyed for sanitation purposes.

Southern Quilts

There were no Confederate printed calico designs because all of the calico factories were located in the North. Since the cotton factories were in the North and imported cloth could not pass through the blockaded ports, many Southern women had to resort to making their own homespun fabric, as the slaves did. There was such as shortage of fabric that carpets were cut up and turned into bedding!

The Gunboat Fairs were held to raise money for the Confederate Navy. The iron-clad Merrimack inspired an interest in developing submarine technology.

Northern Quilts

In the North, fancy quilts were auctioned off as a fundraiser at anti-slavery fairs. There were many patriotic Civil War quilt patterns to celebrate the Union. Sewing circles and public groups were already a custom, so they adapted to making supplies for soldiers. USSC donations were stamped with a mark to prevent theft.

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