The Industrious Lady

 1860s CIVIL WAR era Victorian Greek key trim silk BODICE jacket top 1800s antique vintage 1850s From the Seller Wonderful VICTORIAN blue striped silk bodice with applied ribbon trim in a Greek key pattern. Hand stitched buttons and light boning. Beaded tassels at the shoulders. Drop shoulder and period tailoring. A mixture of machine and hand stitching. MEASURES : bust= 36 length= 17.5 Very good condition. Sturdy without shattering or underarm yellowing ! Repairs at the cuff and a stain on the sleeve.  From the Industrious Lady Hello waist tape! and if you notice, there is machine stitching along the inside seams. We see this more towards the late 1860's, although sewing shops in the early 1860's commonly had sewing machines. One option women during the early sewing machine era would do is have the dressmaker do the major cutting and sewing with her much more industrious and faster machine, then take the garment home and finish it by hand. This way the owner could cut costs. ...

Making Moire Memories Well it finally happened. I've been dying to wear this dress somewhere, but you know, pandemic. So it finally got the dust blown and off and made its debut. And where better than at the lovely Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson Michigan. So it was masks up and hoops on! The moire dress was finally going to be moire than just a pretty dress handing in my closet. (sorry guys, I promise that will be the last moire pun... maybe) All in all I like how the dress turned out. I do wish I had made it a little shorter so its not getting stepped on so easily. My poor fiance wanted to do a hike, I wanted to wear a big dress. Who says you can't wear a 19th century dress to hike two miles and walk through a culvert. 

 Poofy and Perfect This skirt was a bit interesting, the mysterious bustle with its gravity defying witchcraft baffling my poor tiered hoop skirt era mind. What could cause these poofy magic? The secret is all in the tapes, and the rule of threes. Three tapes running vertically on the inside with three specific spots on the skirt that are attached to each tape.  By attaching a piece of cloth onto these tapes, it can be arranged to create a  poof and support from where these tapes are attached. just those little stitches are enough to support the skirt and create the bustling effect. there is also a drawstring running across under the bustle that is drawn tight to help also create the shape. The basic of a bustle is putting a lot of fabric in a little area so it is forced out and giving it lift, that's why a stiff fabric or lining is needed.  Another part of the skirt that I wanted to add was the pleated trim that is often seen on the bottom of period skirts, these dr...

 Victorian 1860s Swiss Waist Velvet Corset From the Seller Antique Victorian circa 1860s midnight blue velvet Swiss waist corset. It is quite possible this is a back lacing corset....or maybe front....we don't know! Lined in brown linen. Fair condition with missing boning at center of corset, worn edges, a small fragment of velvet missing at lower front, fragile around lacing holes, a couple of the pieces of the boning is shorter than the full length, general signs of wear and use as shown. May have imperfections not noted or recognized. Sorry, but the camera tends to make dark velvets look linty when they actually are not.... A rare find! Consider for mannequin display or wearing carefully. Lace included is a replacement. Fit is an XXS to XS. 24" across 12" long at lacing edge 7-1/2" at shortest length From the Industrious Lady The finishing on this swiss waist looks similar to a modern couture edging finish used to create a smooth edge. It is made by sewing a piece...

 1865 Civil War Dres, antique dress, antique gown, robe ancienne, Victorian dress From the Seller T hree-piece afternoon dress from the time of the crinolines, ca. 1865-1868. Origin: America. It is the time of the American Civil War when this dress was worn (or after the war). The dress is made of purple checked (with white stripes) silk. The dress consists of skirt, top and bottom bow. A dress from this time could not be more authentic. The upper part is closed in front with color-coordinated (covered) buttons. It is lined inside with brown, glazed cotton. The same lining can be found in the skirt. This runs out in a small train; it is nicely pleated in the waist area (on the back). The bottom bow has fringes at the edge; it also serves as a belt. Skirt and bow are excellently preserved, but the top is only "fair to good". The top gets the predicate from us because of the two underarm stains. Maybe the dress was worn in the rebellious southern states, where it was very hot. ...