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1/6 plate daguerreotype.

In the depths of winter people either start one of two projects: a wool garment or a summer dress.  The first tries to address the issue of ...

Please ignore the terrible background in these pictures... I made this dress in November 2012 to wear to the  Great Dickens Christmas...

Hana-Marmota asked to see 1840s corsets (or stays, as they were still called by all but the most genteel), so here are some I have found.  It’s not quite the hundreds I mentioned, but that would make for a very long post! 1840s corsets/stays (see this post for more information on the history of the terms and what to call what when) are probably relatively hard to find in museum collections because the 1840s was a period of transition in styles in corsets.  Many corsets that were made or worn in the 1840s are probably identified as earlier, if they follow earlier fashions and techniques, or slightly later, if they use just-introduced cuts and materials. The style of corsets that would have been on its way out in the 1840s is based on the so-called ‘longline’ corsets of the 1810s and 20s, with a solid front busk, bust gussets, hip gussets or princess seams (well, what we would come to call princess seams) and shoulder straps.  The waist suppression for these corsets is fairly minimal, …

This is beginning to become a series, but I think it is good to show the amount of clothes and layers there is to most historic costumes. Often you only se the gown and can only guess there are some foundation underneath, but exactly how many petticoats do it take to get that special silhuet,…

This original 1840s era dress is exquisite! Lots of inspiration here!  (source: Time Travelers Antiques)

1840s Dandy – costume cocktail

1/6 plate daguerreotype

1849. wedding dresses, Graham's magazine.

As my entry for the HSF Challenge 23 Gratetude, I decided to make a 1840s bonnet. This desicion was made based on multiple things: I wanted to make something I never done before in a tecnique I never tried, and keeping myself outside the comfort zone. And I think the early Victorian headwear are both pretty,…

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1840s – Page 5 – costume cocktail

https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/44580.html?mulR=62860958|1602

CDV copy of an 1840s daguerreotype portrait

Here I’m in my 1840s mourning outfit. The dress is black wool fabric with separate bodice and skirt. The bodice is boned and lined with cotton fabric.  Skirt and bodice are closed with hooks and eyes. The entire dress is hand sewn. With the dress I’m wearing a black 1840s bonnet, black leather gloves (for … Continue reading 1840s Mourning Dress →