1861 & Dressed for a Party

Ahh.. you can just imagine Melanie’s birthday party ball right before the men go off to fight where the young ladies are dressed in their ruffled gowns trying to capture the attention of some young officer.

These gowns display the pride being monied (and a good sewing machine or dressmaker). Ruffles like these take hours to attach to a skirt. Even if you simply pink the edges and don’t hem.

The lady on the far right looks like she copied Scarlett’s white gown and made a matching ballgown bodice. The additional ruffle trim on each skirt ruffle adds a nice detail. (Things like this will help your costume stand out from the rest.)

The lady in the purple is a mother or spinster chaperone. The purple could be from the last few months of mourning when a widow was allowed to add a color to their black (only purples and grays). Or she could simply be donning the latest in the aniline dye color family of mauves & violets.

Our lady on the far left resembles a 21st Century cupcake. (See. Fashion does repeat itself if only in other materials besides fabric.) The tulle or net overskirt is caught up with bands of ruching. The gown looks similar to patterns offered by Harriet’s patterns (a most difficult pattern line).

And let’s not forget the lady with her back turned to us. Is she talking to a seated friend? Or showing us her hair bun? Or is she afraid her bodice neckline is cut a wee bit too low? Whatever the reason, we can admire the 18 rows of finely pleated ruffles attached to her enormous skirt.

What do you think? Too many ruffles? To cake like? Or just darling and can’t wait to make one?

6 thoughts on “1861 & Dressed for a Party

  1. Maryssa says:

    I could see any of these, but especially the one on the far left, being used as a cake topper. I like the sheer overlay on the uber-ruffled gown. It transforms the ruffles into ‘a nice touch’ rather than ‘overwhelming’ … although if I were the seamstress who put it together, I might want to be overwhelming, rather than muting all that work!

  2. Diane says:

    Thank you for the link to Harriets. It isn’t a site I’ll use often. Too much emphasis on Civil War. I like elliptical hoop and bustle periods better. But the site is gorgeous and thepatterns for graduated skill sets is a great idea. Have you ever made any of these dresses?

  3. Carolyn says:

    lots of time with ruffles but that is the time period. Love the time but not so much of the ruffles, my age has something to do with wearing ruffles.Thanks for the info.Love this sight.

  4. Julie says:

    Wayyyy too frou-frou for me. No thank you! Give me a good, solid, mid-50s ballgown with big ruffly tiers in a bordered brocatelle and NO cage crinoline 😀

  5. Niki says:

    Very pretty, but not my style. That being said – I’d like to make at least one – just to see how it goes together. Thanks for my daily dose of inspiration

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