Dating antique cotton dress

acceber · Mar 3, 2020

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.

acceber · Mar 3, 2020

Those sleeves really are rather enormous.

poppysvintageclothing · Mar 3, 2020

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.

Vinclothes · Mar 3, 2020

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

Rue_de_la_Paix · Mar 3, 2020

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

acceber · Mar 3, 2020

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!

acceber · Mar 3, 2020

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.

Lady Scarletts · Mar 4, 2020

Yes, 1830's. And FABULOUS!!

The Vintage Merchant · Mar 4, 2020

that is exquisite.

Rue_de_la_Paix · Mar 4, 2020

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.

anothertimevintageapparel · Mar 4, 2020

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

Midge · Mar 4, 2020

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?

acceber · Mar 4, 2020

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.

pastperfect2 · Mar 4, 2020

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.

acceber · Mar 4, 2020

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.

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

pastperfect2 · Mar 5, 2020

Those are older hooks and may be brass. You mentioned machine sewing - where is it in the dress?

anothertimevintageapparel · Mar 5, 2020

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.

Midge · Mar 5, 2020

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...

acceber · Mar 5, 2020

anothertimevintageapparel said:
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.

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.

acceber · Mar 5, 2020

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.