Another item from my new 1910s collection is a petite dress of bright blue wool with lace and black velvet trim. I had my niece wear the dress (just for the pictures!) as it hangs better than on a dress-form (besides which, my dress-form is far too large for this dress!).
This dress has lovely ribbon, button and embroidery detail as well.
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| Detail of the lace, ribbon and red buttons. |
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| Embroidery on the black lace belt. |
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| A view of the back of the bodice, with the beautiful lace collar. |
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| A full view of the back of the dress. |
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| The side-view, which shows black buttons on the sleeve. |
I am still learning about the 1910s, but I would date this dress sometime around 1912-1914. The dress fastens up the front with snaps, along the side bodice and skirt.
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| A dress from All The Pretty Dresses blog, from around the beginning of the 1st World War. |
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| A fashion plate from 1914. |
I am curious about a few things. There is a tag in the back of the dress, so it was store-bought. But I wonder if all the embellishments were original, or if some of them were added by the woman who wore this dress (such as the embroidery on the black velvet ribbon). The more I am able to study extant clothing, the more I will be able to tell, and I am so grateful for what I am already learning.
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| A glimpse of how bright the dress was originally, compared to the worn outside fabric. |
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| The tag at the back of the dress. |
An intriguing little mystery. I vote for the wearer adding touches of her own. Sixteen -- yet it is so small and petite. What kind of sizing was there back then? Seems like a real treasure. I'm glad you had such a lovely girl to model it.
ReplyDeleteSizes were based on an average size for a particular age. Hence, this was the size a 16-year old would wear.
ReplyDeleteI'm still so very glad it went to the right home.
Wow! What a lovely dress! I'd love a closer up detail of those buttons. They look very cool.
ReplyDelete