As we approach summer, here's some summer fashion from 1875! Interesting items, elephant-colored silk, bathing costumes for girls, boys and ladies, a wrapper for ladies in mourning and the "new" style of asymmetrical dress. Once again, immense gratitude to the
Providence Athenaeum for access to their spectacular archives and for making these images available!
DESCRIPTION OF STEEL FASHION PLATE
Figure 1-Walking dress of two shades of purple silk. The underskirt is of the lighter shade, trimmed with puffs; the overskirt and mantle of the darker, trimmed with bands of the lighter. Hat of dark straw, faced and trimmed with silk to match dress.
Figure 2-Walking dress of
écru-colored pongee. The underskirt is trimmed with a kilt plaiting, headed with an embroidered band; the overskirt is finished with an embroidered band; sleeveless basque, covered with embroidery. Chip bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon and blue corn flowers.
Figure 3-Dinner dress of a light shade of elephant-colored silk. The lower skirt has the front breadth formed of kilt plaiting, and finished at the bottom by ruffles. Sleeveless polonaise of lace of the same color, trimmed with fringe; it is cut square in the neck; silk sleeves. The waist would of course have to be lined with silk. Hair arranged in puffs, with feather clasped by a jeweled ornament arranged in front.
Figure 4-House dress of two shades of green silk and grenadine. The underskirt is of silk, trimmed with a kilt plaiting; the overskirt and basque are of grenadine, trimmed with silk ruffles and ribbon; fringe around the edge of overskirt and basque.
Figure 5-Evening dress of pink silk, made with a trained skirt, the back breadths cut in turrets with a plaiting below them; the front breadth is even across the bottom with a plaiting deeper at the sides than the exact front, headed with puff, plaiting, and three rows of fringe; garlands of roses trim the skirt. Low basque corsage, with bertha of a puff and fringe. Hair arranged in puffs and curls, with roses between them.
DESCRIPTION OF EXTENSION SHEET
First Side
Figure 1-Walking dress of écru and brown foulard. The underskirt is of the brown, trimmed with ruffles of both shades. The overskirt is of the light, with dark ribbon bows; light basque bodice, trimmed with folds of the dark. Chip hat, trimmed with the two shades. Dark brown parasol.
Figure 2-House dress of black silk and grenadine. The underskirt is of the silk; the overskirt and basque bodice and sleeves are of grenadine, richly embroidered with silk and jet. They are trimmed with silk and jet fringe.
Figure 3-Walking dress of gray camel's hair and silk; the underskirt is of silk, trimmed with puffs and ruffles. The jacket bodice is of the camel's hair, trimmed with silk, with long sash ends falling down at the sides with pockets in them. Hat of gray chip, trimmed with feathers and silk.
Figure 4-Carriage dress of lilac silk, trimmed with bands of darker silk, and sleeveless basque of the darker silk. The sleeves are of the shade of the skirt. White chip hat, trimmed with two shades and white flowers.
FIgure 5-Walking dress of black grenadine. The front breadths of underskirt are trimmed with folds; the back breadths with ruffles, headed with folds forming squares. The overskirt is trimmed with a fold, the upper part in back being cut in scallops. The basque is cut to correspond. Black chip bonnet, trimmed with blue and black.
Figure 6-White chip bonnet, trimmed with white crêpe de chine and white flowers.
Figure 7-Hat of gray straw, trimmed with gray silk scarf and pink roses.
Second Side
Figure 1-Bathing toilet of pale gray serge. Trousers and short-sleeved blouse of gray serge, with bands of a darker shade. Loose mantle striped gray and white flannel.
Figure 2-Bathing toilet for little girls. Short trousers and blouse of white serge, braided with scarlet worsted braid. Echarpe of scarlet Cashmere, with knotted fringe. White bathing slippers, with scarlet sandals.
Figure 3-Bathing toilet of bright blue flannel. Trousers and blouse of flannel; the latter braided with white braid, and fastened with buttons. Loose mantle of Baden-Baden cloth, bathing cap of oiled silk bound with blue. Slippers with blue sandals.
Figure 4-Seaside toilet. Skirt and sleeveless jacket of black taffetas; the former is plaited in front, and arranged in flounces at the back. Tunic and bodice of striped batiste écru with guipure lace. Necktie of lilac crêpe de chine. Hat of écru-colored lawn, with gauze veil.
Figure 5-Costume for little boys. Skirt of black and white tartan. Jacket of gray tricot cloth, with bands and buttons. White straw hat, with black gros grain ribbon.
Figure 6-Collar and habit shirt and sleeve of striped percale, trimmed with a narrow worked ruffle.
Figure 7-Bodice of white Nainsook muslin, trimmed with Valenciennes lace and muslin puffs. This can be worn with a white or colored skirt.
Figure 8-Ladies' chemise, with yoke and narrow sleeves.
Figure 9-Linen collar and cuff; the collar is formed of four folds of linen.
FIgure 10-Little girls' apron, made of Nainsook muslin, and trimmed with lace insertion and edging.
Figure 11-Hat of black chip, turned up at one side, trimmed with cardinal red silk,and flowers of the same shade.
Figure 12-Bow for the hair and sash for evening dress. The bow and sash are of plea pink ribbon, ornamented with bunches of lilies of the valley.
Figure 13-Piqué cloak for little girl, with braided cape.
Figure 14-Sleeveless basque of blue silk, trimmed with facing of quilted silk. This can be worn over a white or black dress.
Figures 15 and 16-Front and back view of linen or wool dress for boy of four years, trimmed with braid and buttons. Ribbon sash.
Figure 17-Ribbon bow for the hair, with jet butterfly in the center.
Figure 18-Cravat bow, made of pink crêpe de chine, and trimmed with either white or black lace.
Figure 19-Basque, made of black summer matelasse faced with black silk, open down the front, and joined by bows of ribbon. This can be worn for the house or street with a black grenadine dress.
Figure 20-White straw bonnet, trimmed with black velvet and wheat, garland of roses inside the brim.
Figure 21-Childs' apron, made of white linen braided.
Figure 22-Dress for little girl of five years, made of blue lawn, with low square neck and short sleeves; underwaist of white Nainsook muslin tucked.
Figure 23-Kilt skirt and coat with vest for boy of four years, made of gray serge, or wash goods if preferred. The vest if of white piqué. Straw hat.
CHITCHAT
On Fashions for July
The little folks claim our attention first this month, not but what their fashions have been described over and over again in the descriptions given of their mamma's toilets, as they are the exact copies in miniature of those worn by older persons.
In infants' clothing little or no change is noticeable. Infants' robes are still made very long, and with high neck and long sleeves. The handsomest imported robes are made of organdy muslin, elaborately embroidered and edged with Valenciennes lace. Simple robes are made of French Nainsook, and trimmed with insertion, edging, tucks, puffs, or crimped plantings edged with lace, as fancy dictates. Infants' cloaks are not changed in shape. These are, usually, for summer made of piqué in the form of two large capes, with elaborate embroidery on the upper cape. Some persons prefer these to be made in Cashmere, and in very warm weather only have the upper cape worn. Infants are generally put into short clothes when six months old, and the same patterns of larger sizes are usually worn until the child is four years old. The dresses of boys and girls up to this age require the same patters, the only marked distinction in their wardrobe is in the head covering, as boys wear turbans, while girls have caps, close cottage bonnets, or fanciful round hats.
...
French Nainsook wrappers [for ladies] have Watteau backs, with tabliers of trimming and little round capes made of embroidery, insertion, and knife plaiting. The tabliers are half circular rows of insertion and ruffling, or else lengthwise puffs. Morning wrappers for ladies in mourning are trimmed with bias folds of the organdy laid in many parallel rows, and with knife plaiting.
It is now considered so necessary that the various shades of a lady's costume should match in the smallest detail, that skirt braided are made mixed, so as to match the various wool fabrics so popular for general wear. These braids look much better than the plain ones, which formed a solid line of color around the edge of the skirt. It is by particular attention to all these details that a lady's dress is made to reach perfection--everything to match and contrast, from the bonnet to the smallest detail of the costume.
Many of the dresses made at the leading dressmakers display he odd fashion of having one side so different from the other that they look like parts of two dresses put together by mistake. Thus one side of the front will have the tablier representing three aprons, or perhaps, four; while the other is but one fully gathered tablier.
The full text of the engraved plates and the chitchat can be found in the images below!
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| By permission of the Providence Athenaeum |
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| By permission of the Providence Athenaeum |
