Figure 1.-- Here we have a home-sewn light-brown-colored jacketed dress. It was sewed by an English aunt in the 1850s who emigrated to America in the 1860s. Here we see the dress without the jacket. |
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Here we have an excellent example of a home-sewn dress along with its interesting history. It is light brown-colored jacketed dress. As it was sewn in England during the 1850s, we have to classify it as an English dress--even though it was worn by an American boy in the 1870s. It was made in cotton sateen. It was made in two pieces. There was a matching jacket and dress made in the same material and corrdinated decoration. Both were heavily decorated with applique. and embroidery. At the time the dress was made, the idea of aess was not very pronounced. We are not sure what the size was, we might guess that it was ewwn for a 4-5 year old.
A popular style of dress was a jacketed dress. This was an example. The jacket was made waist length with long sleeves. It had a scoop neck, matching embroidery and picotage tape around wrists, open edges, and bottom edges. The jacket closes up the center front with three matching buttons.
The dress was made in the princess line style. The features included: cap sleeves, and bateau neckline. The dress was heavily decorated. There were three decorative tabs appliqued down bodice front from neck and shoulders down to the waistline. The applique was decorated with black buttonhole stitched embroidery in elaborate floral chains. There was also white and black machine tape with picotage edge around the outside. The sewer added atching band of embroidery around each sleeve as well as around the skirt at thigh level. Additional tape trim was added around cuff and neckline, as well as decorative belted section at middle of back with attached bow. Back bows were popular dress items that cntinued iunto the 1950s. Wjile the dress view here is a front view, you can see the bow strings hanging below the skirt hem. Mother of pearl buttons were added at points on each tab as well as to hold on belt on backside, along with the five used to close up the center back opening. A additional drawstring was fed through neckline casing.
Wisconsin Museum
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