Age of this antique dress?

[Joji Furukawa]

I found this antique dress for $15 on Kijiji and I am wondering how old it is. The lace looks like it is all handmade. The dress has a high waist and a long, pleated skirt. The sleeves are sewn on one side but open, like wings on the other. The skirt has many pleats in it around the bottom edge. The dresses closures are several brass hooks and eyes down the centre back. There is a bodice of different fabric on the inside of the dress. There is a random eye sewn onto the front of the dress. The seller told me it was early 19th century but I am not sure. Any help would be appreciated!

Also, how would I store this? The person put a dryer sheet in with the dress. Will this affect it? There are several holes and I took a picture of the part with the most damage. Where would I take this to have it repaired/stabilized? How would you describe the condition of this dress?

Thank you!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Thank you for sharing your latest treasure with us. What you have there is not a dress, actually. It falls into the lingerie category, likely is a dressing gown. It might possibly be part of a tea gown, but I am leaning more to it being a dressing gown and lingerie.

I would date that to the Edwardian period, 1900 - 1910. It is quite beautiful. Those do not come to market all that often, and the color and hem ruffle treatment is especially nice.

Personally I would not keep the dryer sheet in with it. Did she do that to cover any odors, such as mold or mustiness? I cannot give much of an opinion of the condition, as I would need to have it in hand to inspect it or see more photos and ask a lot of questions beforehand. But it looks overall in good shape, needing repairs but likely worth doing at least some basic fixes.

I think you got this for a steal, and it is a great prize.

 

[Joji Furukawa]

Hi Barbara! Thank you for your response! I was sort of doubtful that it is as old as the seller said it was. I found out what the extra eye is for, there is actually a hook that closes the front. I was a bit confused as to what was front and what was the back. Also, what is this fabric around the bottom of the skirt on the inside? It feels and looks like some kind of gauze.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I concur with Barbara on dating and purpose and only wanted to add that the lace appears to be machine made, but I can't see it close enough to be 100% sure. It doesn't look to be of the quality that such a large amount of hand made lace would be attached to either, but sometimes lace is repurposed.

Can you show a close up of the gauze at the hem? It might be a skirt protector but it would be helpful to see it. Thank you.

 

[Joji Furukawa]

Hi Nicole and thank you for your reply! Now that you say it and after I looked at it closer, I can see that you are right and that it's not handmade. It appears to be a trim that they used for strips.

As for the gauze, it looks to me as if it's there to give the bottom edge more bounce. There's a layer of gauze, then a layer of thicker fabric and then on top is the outside ruffle layer.

How would you suggest I repair the dress? Should I try to find a similar fabric? It's made of strips of lace sewn to trips of fabric so I could easily swap out the damaged panel with a new one. Or should I take it to a professional to have repaired?