The previous post dealt with the duel – a very masculine endeavor of two men killing each other for the sake of honor. Unlike the male population, women did not carry swords or pistols to assert themselves. They used fashion to that end. The 1850s and 60s was the era of expansion in every way including fashion. Railways expanded around the world, an undersea cable was laid and the telegraph carried instant news across the Atlantic. Machines and bridges were built that required chains of links the size of a human body. International expositions united goods and people from every corner of the globe. Women in their ever-increasing skirts took more and more room at such gatherings. A dress made of 15 to 20 yards of fabric covered with an ample mantle in the winter made women look like moving pyramids. Fortunately, the sewing machine was invented just then to help with assembling the abundant material.
Although I published a few posts on the 19th-century fashion, especially on the infamous 1850-60s crinoline, none of them can compete with Mimi Matthews’ meticulous work The 1860s in Fashionable Gowns: A Visual Guide to the Decade. Mimi is working her way through the century post by post, each decade a careful assemblage of museum collections photos: a visual feast not to be missed. You’ll find some fashion atrocities like the Queen Victoria’s Great Exhibition gown with cancerous satin growths, but also things of stunning beauty, of rich materials and clever use of sewing skills. The winning entry is the orange Italian court gown. Do click on the photo to enlarge the gorgeous gold embroidery. You will be taken directly to the Metropolitan Museum fashion collection. But do come back to read Mimi Matthews’ remarkable post!
Update: Sorry, the links are no longer functional. The author of the blog promised to look into it.
Second update: Since no links are coming, I managed to find Queen Victoria’s Great Exhibition gown (1851). Visit The Royal Collection Trust for more here.
Related posts:
The Hoop Crinoline: Dying for fashion
The Hoop Crinoline: Living in a Cage
La Castiglione: The Too Much Countess
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Thanks so much for your kind words, Iva. And I agree with you completely about Queen Victoria’s exhibition gown!
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I like your use of the words “cancerous sating growths”.
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I love looking at these crinoline dresses. Years ago, my eldest daughter made a whole outfit including the hooped petticoat as a school sewing project. It took yards of materials. We eventually gave it away to a school drama department as it was too bulky to store.
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