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Dating antique cotton dress

Discussion in 'PUBLIC Vintage Fashion - Ask Questions Get Answers' started by acceber, Mar 3, 2020.

  1. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    Just looking for a date for this dress. Those crazy big sleeves are cut very high. Would this possibly be a nightgown?...or maybe an underdress? It’s an extremely tiny dress. It’s on my size 4 dress form and it’s miles from closing in the back. The only closures are hook and eyes at the back. Thank you.

    FE6026E0-F2F5-41C7-AEAE-2E9747DB3031.jpeg C509FCF6-D34C-473B-8735-359A24C74847.jpeg A7453192-4983-48A2-90D0-B1EA5907F40F.jpeg DBF0B87D-DE4A-482A-9045-0063CBD8F953.jpeg ECA9E871-C4D7-4607-982F-A938EA8EA648.jpeg 25128D71-699E-4E64-9A78-39EF65B45BE3.jpeg
     
  2. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    Those sleeves really are rather enormous.

    987E5FF5-673E-4319-9F87-D55120C879F1.jpeg
     
  3. poppysvintageclothing

    poppysvintageclothing VFG Board Member Staff Member VFG Past President

    This makes me think of an example of a Regency Era dress c 1830 but I am wondering if it might have been made as a costume piece. Can you show us more of the inner construction.
     
  4. Vinclothes

    Vinclothes Alumni +

    And I would like to know more about the fabric(s). Weight, textures, if any. Handwork?
    Marian
     
  5. Rue_de_la_Paix

    Rue_de_la_Paix VFG Member

    Yes, if it is 1830s it would have to be completely hand sewn. I adore the dress.
     
  6. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    There is a lot about this dress that makes me think Edwardian era. I’m starting to wonder if it’s supposed to sit down off the shoulders a little. It’s a combination of machine and hand sewing. The fabric is cotton lawn. It’s the same fabric as a few other white Edwardian dresses I have. The sleeve holes are SO tiny!

    5CB202D0-CAFD-4EB7-9FFA-289D4E1A5130.jpeg D2EF99B4-FFB4-47A3-AD74-2887FEE5CDA4.jpeg 794EBD10-66A1-4066-A3B6-ED436F72FB8F.jpeg 3D282D4B-B639-4057-AE31-793879534828.jpeg 4E526F50-2F2F-4ED1-B3BA-9B1A3901C1EB.jpeg 8FE07AB2-3C8E-4404-8BCF-55647F85257A.jpeg 6D1AE61F-FC21-4772-8B69-D4A418322E29.jpeg BB1D4328-6A34-49D6-9021-D083DBCF7BD8.jpeg 69F12D17-02E8-448E-A7EE-59BEFA8E041B.jpeg 4314FA23-D870-4FD6-ABAC-0A3187FD8932.jpeg B52951AE-B02C-4639-A348-25D5E7310AD5.jpeg ABCAC6B1-787B-486E-BBD2-4450425CA031.jpeg
     
  7. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    Also, if it helps, it measures 51” from shoulder to hem and it has a 22” waist, which makes me think this is a pre-teen dress. I’m 5’5” and this dress barely comes to my shoulder holding it on a hanger so the hem rests on the floor.
     
  8. Lady Scarletts

    Lady Scarletts VFG Member

    Yes, 1830's. And FABULOUS!!
     
  9. The Vintage Merchant

    The Vintage Merchant Administrator Staff Member

  10. Rue_de_la_Paix

    Rue_de_la_Paix VFG Member

    Something about the bobbinette makes me think that maybe that part was added later. I am not sure of course as I cannot handle it. I might be totally wrong! Regardless of its age, the dress is fabulous.
     
  11. I see a mix of eras. A Teens white with an new style bodice and Regency costume style sleeves added later .

    It looks like a costume piece to me, but as others say, without handling it, it is hard to tell
     
  12. Midge

    Midge Super Moderator Staff Member

    The silhouette looks 1830s to me, but as far as I know, the fine white cotton dresses of the earlier Regency period weren't a thing anymore then... so yes, maybe a later costume?
     
  13. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    There is a dress for sale on Etsy by a seller named “marybethhale,” an “Antique Georgian Regency 1830s Dress.” It’s so similar to mine, it makes me think it could have been made by the same person. The sleeves are a bit different as is the bottom of the dress, but aside from that they are nearly identical. Same white cotton. Same stitching, same seams. Same hook and eyes at the back. I’m wondering what the odds of this are? My dress came from a rack at a local antique store where they sell off prior museum pieces. I bought a fantastic 1920s mourning dress from them just last week. I’m just surprised to see another dress so similar to this one, of such an age.

    B20D4D1A-4B88-4D78-BFCE-7B8C684A91F6.png
     
  14. pastperfect2

    pastperfect2 Alumni +

    To be 1830s, it must be completely hand sewn. That said, some hand sewing is fine enough you need a magnifying glass to tell it by hand. I find the metal loops a surprise. The dresses of the era I have handled all had hand worked eyelets. The hooks - are they brass? Do they have the small bump inside to keep them hooked?

    It may indeed be a high quality reproduction. Hard to say without handling it.
     
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  15. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    I put it on my oldest dress form. I have tissue paper in the sleeves. It’s maddening trying to see how this thing was actually sewn together. All the stitching is hidden or so similar to the fabric that it’s hard for me to see. I got a better picture of the hooks. The top hook is in the opposite direction as the rest, to keep it from being more secure, I believe.

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    I suppose I will have to resign myself to being unsure about this one!
     
  16. pastperfect2

    pastperfect2 Alumni +

    Those are older hooks and may be brass. You mentioned machine sewing - where is it in the dress?
     
  17. Older hooks may have been used for a quality reproduction.
    I am not convinced it is Regency and I am suspect about the other being sold.
     
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  18. Midge

    Midge Super Moderator Staff Member

    Just a tiny thing but... 1830s is not Regency :). The actual regency of the Prince of Wales for his father dured from 1811-1820, and George IV. ruled in his own right until 1830 if you want to stretch the term. IMHO, anything later I wouldn't call Regency. Sorry, I'm a nerd...
     
  19. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    My first thought when seeing that dress on Etsy is that the odds of finding two similar dresses of such an age (supposedly) seem astronomical to me. It makes me suspect both of them too.
     
  20. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    I tried getting better pics of the seams. I do believe they are machine sewn and a very close stitch, and French so it was hard to tell but I got some good examples and there is also hand stitching too. I do believe the hook and eyes are brass, for what it’s worth.

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