Dress Diary - 1876 Walking Dress pt 1 - Pattern and impressions

I hate copying patterns. 

I've spent several hours this weekend copying the Patterns of History 1876 Bustle Dress pattern. I lover everything about this dress, from the v-neck embellishments to the longer bodice, and the longer overskirt with it's fullness swept into a demi-train. I'm not sure how I feel about the back of the overskirt; I might modify that into a long pleat, but we'll see. 

This particular pattern was published in 1975, taken from a dress in the collection of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, for which they have a complete province. The patterns for the foundational skirt, overskirt, and bodice are fairly conventional, and in some ways similar to more recent patterns. However, I feel like the more recent publications miss some important points, largely that the skirts of 1876 have very different supports than those of 1874. 1876 was a transition between the Early Bustle profile and the Natural Form profile. By 1876, bodices were longer, ending in some cases at hip level. Overskirts were also longer. The hip and derrière areas were not yet tightly fitted, and the high bustle of the early 70's had given way to a more moderate derrière with fullness transferred to below knee-level. My impression is supported by a number of fashion plates from 1876 - and this pattern.

Due to its age, this pattern isn't widely available. I felt pretty lucky to get one from a seller on Etsy; it was in mint condition, sealed. The pattern is printed on 6 large sheets of sturdy paper. Being 50 years old, that paper is set in its folds and discolored a bit on the edges. I do not cut patterns; interestingly, the directions with this pattern recommend not cutting, but tracing the pieces. 

I use Pellon Tru-Grid 810 for tracing. Some searching on Ebay turned up a bolt at about the same price as those cheap JoAnn days. Tru-Grid is printed with a 1" grid, which I like for maintaining grain on the fashion fabric. Because it is a non-woven fabric, it is a bit awkward to lay over the creases of the paper, and I've been using weights and yard sticks to tame the chaos.  

Why do I hate copying patterns? It's tedious. I feel that I can't get a perfect copy. The Pellon always moves. In the case of this pattern, it is taking all my patience and perseverance to get a decent copy. Okay, okay - a couple of millimeters of difference in a line won't make a significant difference, but I'm picky. 

On the other hand, copying patterns means that I retain a pristine copy for later use, for reference or if I need to make a different size. It's a good thing, and so I persist. 

The Patterns of History pattern comes in single sizes. The one I was able to get is a size 14. 

I am not. 

I will have to grade this pattern which means that the copy that I'm making now will not be the copy that I cut out. I worry about multiplying errors. This pattern does not provide measurements for a size 14, so I don't have any idea about what measurements it's based on. However the waistbands are 27", which means that I need start out adding 14" to all circumferences. Good thing that I have lots of mock-up fabric. 

One other benefit of tracing a pattern is to build familiarity with the pattern. For instance, this pattern makes use of facings, which I believe are ahistoric, not to mention being unnecessarily fiddly. I will be flat-lining instead. This pattern also uses a built-in "cincher" in place of a corset; of course I'll be dispensing with this work-around designed for the modern woman. One difference from more recent publications is that this pattern has 5/8" seam allowances. I'm used to 1/2". 

The other notable thing about this pattern is that the ruffles are all cut on the bias. Because I'm using striped fabric, this was my plan all along, but to have them in pattern pieces is ... interesting. Looking at the pattern pieces for the ruffles and ruches, I can tell that there are some interesting embellishment effects that I may or may not use. 

It's a bit like a Janet Arnold drawing of an extant dress, without the handy grid underlaying. I'm copying all the parts that I'm likely to use, but since I'm not cutting the pattern I'll have it for reference if anything goes awry. 

 

1876 - Commemoration, Creation, and Transition

This year is the 150th anniversary of the creation of Colorado. We're known as the Centennial State, because we are the only state in the union that was established on the U. S. centennial. Between this auspicious anniversary and that of the U. S., celebrations are planned for this summer all over the state.

Colorado is a state with a storied history. These lands - being rich in resources and beauty, and on the U. S. frontier in the late nineteenth century - seemed to attract all sorts of interesting people who came here for largely economic reasons. Before Anglo-Americans arrived, the region was home to several indigenous cultures, people who were displaced and murdered for the wealth that was to be exploited by the colonizers. Some of our history is truly shameful, and still there are stories to be told about remarkable people doing remarkable things. Part of our "official" celebration is to platform the histories of all people who have historically called this region home, along with recognizing that our shared history is how we make decisions about our future that reflect our values of human rights, ecological conservation, and the rule of law. 

For all of these things, I'm pretty proud of my (second) home state. 

It's convenient that our founding is centered in the era that neo-Victorians enjoy so much. While there are a wide variety of commemorations happening all over the state this year, I'm most interested in those that refer back to the 1870s - 1890s. DVSS has been holding an annual excursion up to South Park for several years, usually to South Park City in Fairplay, but sometimes to the railroad revival in Como. This year, South Park City intends to put on a commemorative show in their Living History Days in August. 

I simply must have a new patriotic frock. 

And 1876 is the problem. 

Those of us engaged in sartorial history generally divide the last quarter of the nineteenth century into four eras. Early Bustle is 1870 - 1876; Natural Form is 1877-1882, and Late Bustle is 1883-1889, while the Belle Epoch is 1890-1900. The change between each dress era is pretty dramatic. Well, all but the first two. 

There seems to be a transitional period of 1874-1876, in which the skirt silhouette changed from bustle to slope, and not fitted in the derrière and thighs. 1876 fashion plates show the cuirass bodice of the upcoming Natural Form style over this new skirt shape. The rear silhouette no longer featured the elevated rump; instead there is a long continuous line from narrow waist to floor or beyond to the end of the train.   

The "princess" or polonaise style was also popular in 1876, long bodices which transitioned into drapery below the waist, worn over the same skirt shape. Overskirts and polonaise fronts are longer than seen earlier in the Early Bustle era. 

While both of these styles bore some resemblance to the dress eras that bracketed 1876, they are clearly not typical of either of them.  

Some original skirt/overskirt and polonaise patterns are available for these transitional years, however modern patterns have skipped this transition almost entirely. To be fair, there were still a few full bustle skirts in 1876, but the trend away from the bustle is clear. Truly Victorian has one 1876 skirt (TV 216, the Parisian Trained Skirt) which seems to have the current base form, but with an excess of embellishment. TV carries the classic cuirass bodice from which all kinds of modifications can be made to neckline, hemline, and sleeves - it will do perfectly for 1876.

Ageless Patterns is a great source for the originals, but they're almost entirely too small for this body and would require grading. I do buy them however, because they provide the shape of the original garment which can be applied to patterns like TV. The princess gown in Figure 2 is fairly typical of the year and available from Ageless Patterns. 

Black Snail and Laughing Moon are both missing this style, although the Black Snail 1870 Wrapper Dress (#0919) might be a good base from which a princess gown could be fashioned. 

However, there is one pattern out there which seems to be a really useful source - the Patterns of History 1876 Bustle Dress. (Figure 3) It features a cuirass bodice with a lovely shawl collar and a long overskirt which has an understated bouffant back. The coat sleeves, collar, and hemline are heavily embellished. The bodice has a peplum back which I find to be especially fetching. One of the better points is that it's a pattern made from an extant gown in a Western (Wisconsin is kind of West, right?) U. S. museum - which means that it's a decent cultural fit for 1876 Colorado. I believe (based on patten reviews) that it has a train, although the drawing shows the skirt in a walking length - bonus for traveling through a dusty western town. 

Now, to find it. 

It took some time and a lot of search terms, but I have indeed secured one, in size 14. Unopened and uncut. I feel like a lucky girl, even though the price has increased somewhat from the 1970's list price. While I may have to grade parts of it, I expect that (for the bodice anyway) it will be mostly a process of applying shape changes to TV 420B, the 1879 Cuirass bodice. Photos of women in 1876 show that the skirt of the cuirass bodice does not have to fit the hips so carefully. Skirts are easy to grade. I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival, and hoping that it's a bit like opening Janet Arnold. 

Who, by the way, also skips 1876; however, the 1878 day dress in Patterns of Fashion 2 looks remarkably similar to POH 1876, if the POH dress was one piece. 

I do have one other book which might be of help. Frances Grimble's (for whom I admit to having few charitable feelings) Fashions of the Gilded Age Vol 1 has the trained petticoat in it which supports those long sloping skirts. I know this, because I've made one - before I lost the book somewhere. 

Try to find that one; it's out of print. There's one on ebay for <koffs> $331 USD.  The good news is that it's readily available through ILL, and so I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. 

A lot of research and a plan is beginning to come together, however nebulous it may be. I've decided to use the POH 1876 pattern as a jumping off point. I have in my stash an indigo blue 19th-century style cotton print and a length of striped cotton in red, white, indigo, and Wedgewood blue. I'd prefer the bodice and overskirt to be the blue, which leaves the stripe for the foundation skirt and cuff/collar trimmings. I also have a great gob of netting lace and cotton embroidered lace which I want to deploy as in Figure 1. I'm largely interested in the ornate necklines and sleeve cuffs as illustrated in contemporary fashion plates, and  the decorative possibilities of cutting that stripe on the bias for flounces and ruches. 

I'm making some ribbon cockades in Colorado colors - red, white, blue, and gold for decorative elements, and I'm considering other ways to bring gold into the r/w/b scheme. Small gold picture buttons are on order, picturing little birds perched on a twig. 

For undergarments, I will need to make a new long ruffled petticoat. I'm certain that I can make some significant improvements on the one I made long ago. 

Sew patriotic, right? I can find no evidence that women wore these colors in commemoration 150 years ago. However, I'm planning on this ensemble to get a good workout this year, perhaps with a less obviously patriotic underskirt next year.