Mid 1800’s dress dating and fiber identification

It's the shot where the fabric is pulled up the neck. I didn't look closely at all the photos. For an evening dress from this period, the opening should be in the back. Do you have any provenance on the dress?
 
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These are what you are looking at The skirt should be a bit longer in the back, so that should also tell you which way the dress is worn.
 
Thank you for your help on this dress! The photos I most recently posted in the forum that show the dress with the neck pulled up is with the hooks / opening at the back, with the triple darts of the underbodice at the back and the single center underbodice dart at the front. I know the dress should open in the back, but to me this placement just doesn't seem correct ( and the shoulder seam placement seems off as well )
When the dress is displayed with the hooks/ opening in the front, ( triple underbodice pleats in the front, single center back dart at the back) the back skirt is longer. Waist to hem at the front is 39" and waist to hem at the back is 42", so yes, this also points towards the opening being in the front.
I do think its possible the sleeves were shortened at some point as the red band seems newer and the hand stitching not quite as fine as the rest of the dress.
For the provenance, this dress was part of a collection that belonged to a family in Minnesota. The home where it came from was located in Sunfish Lake/ St. Paul, though from where the ancestors lived is not yet known by me. The collection spanned several generations and from what I was told, it included pieces from both sides of the family. Martha, the last keeper of the collection, also had boxes and boxes of family history research that is now in the hands of her daughter. I have reached out to her and hope to meet with her in person when she makes a trip back to Minnesota in the next few weeks as I would love to learn as much as I can about the family history and potentially put faces to some of the garments that I now have in the collection. ( Side note: I have started to feature the items from this newly acquired " Martha's Collection" with posts and videos on Instagram / Youtube.)
I am hoping to get more definitive answers on the dress regarding what it is made out of, (tarlatan is the current one I am researching, but have yet to find any flocked versions) the era ( I agree with you on the 1860s- others have suggested 1840s 1850s) and now wanting to make sure which way is the front and which way is the back ( I refer to you on this :) I then do plan to list it on Ebay, and I will certainly reach out to you when its listed.
Thank you again for your insights! I really appreciate it.
Barbara
 
barbarasculati said:
Thank you for your help on this dress! The photos I most recently posted in the forum that show the dress with the neck pulled up is with the hooks / opening at the back, with the triple darts of the underbodice at the back and the single center underbodice dart at the front. I know the dress should open in the back, but to me this placement just doesn't seem correct ( and the shoulder seam placement seems off as well )
When the dress is displayed with the hooks/ opening in the front, ( triple underbodice pleats in the front, single center back dart at the back) the back skirt is longer. Waist to hem at the front is 39" and waist to hem at the back is 42", so yes, this also points towards the opening being in the front.
I do think its possible the sleeves were shortened at some point as the red band seems newer and the hand stitching not quite as fine as the rest of the dress.
For the provenance, this dress was part of a collection that belonged to a family in Minnesota. The home where it came from was located in Sunfish Lake/ St. Paul, though from where the ancestors lived is not yet known by me. The collection spanned several generations and from what I was told, it included pieces from both sides of the family. Martha, the last keeper of the collection, also had boxes and boxes of family history research that is now in the hands of her daughter. I have reached out to her and hope to meet with her in person when she makes a trip back to Minnesota in the next few weeks as I would love to learn as much as I can about the family history and potentially put faces to some of the garments that I now have in the collection. ( Side note: I have started to feature the items from this newly acquired " Martha's Collection" with posts and videos on Instagram / Youtube.)
I am hoping to get more definitive answers on the dress regarding what it is made out of, (tarlatan is the current one I am researching, but have yet to find any flocked versions) the era ( I agree with you on the 1860s- others have suggested 1840s 1850s) and now wanting to make sure which way is the front and which way is the back ( I refer to you on this :) I then do plan to list it on Ebay, and I will certainly reach out to you when its listed.
Thank you again for your insights! I really appreciate it.
Barbara
Click to expand...
I had just posted a question(I deleted it as I read this right after I posted it) regarding the history of the dress which i think got cross posted. You answered my question and I hope you can get more information as time goes by. So interesting to know about the people who wore these fashions of their time. Thank you, Barbara, for sharing.
 
Thank you for that. In searches for “ sheer 1860’s dress” I have found examples of dresses that have a similar front opening. I’m wondering if perhaps the fact that it is a sheer dress and that perhaps it’s considered more a dress for day as opposed to a ball gown/ evening gown lends itself more to the front opening?
 

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