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249.8-18 Bodice & Skirt Ensemble, 1840-1860s 8-18
$23.00 This dress is a fine example of both the 18th century fabric being reused to create a stylish 1840s gown — a very popular fashion trend in the 1840s — and then the gown itself being updated and adapted to the ever changing fashionable silhouette during Mary Boykin Chesnut’s life time. A quick summation of the alterations timeline: 1770s: brocade woven, first dress probably made. 1840s: 18th c dress taken apart and remade in 1840s style, probably with short fitted sleeves and narrow detachable sleeves. 1861-65: Skirt removed and re-pleated closer to 1860s style with flat stacked pleats; sleeves removed and puffed short sleeves substituted. 1867-70: detachable sleeves have ruching added for size and style update. 2017: Conservation of the gown to stabilize the textile. Funded by the South Carolina Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames. |
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Pictures of front and back of the original gown in the 1860s style with the detachable sleeves along side
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