I have never really been interested in the clothing from this time period before, but I guess it was Sherlock Holmes that won me over. Here are 3 dresses from the 1880's that I really like: (All images were found on Pinterest and will be linked if you want to pin them! Just click on the link underneath)
This dress is so pretty! I love the buttons down the front of the bodice, and the ruching strip down the front of the skirt. Ruching, gathering, and pleating create such beautiful effects when they are used creatively to accentuate the figure (in a good way, of course!). The idealized body shape of the 1880's is one of my favorites. It doesn't try to drastically reshape the body or limit movement, it highlights the waist and is very feminine.
This one looks like a day dress bodice. One feature of quite a few dresses from this time period is that they had 2 tops to go with 1 skirt: 1 for day and 1 for evening.
If I made an 1880's dress, I would choose fabric in a strong color, like this one. It shows off the draping of the skirt especially well.
It wouldn't let me upload all the pictures I wanted to, but if you want to see some more, this is my
Pinterest board for Late 19th Century Clothing.
I'l be back with some more sewing news soon, life has just gotten in the way for a while. I'm still working, however slowly.
Rebecca
