Dating this Blouse...

[bycin]

The E.A. Robinson label... I researched the label and that man opened a dry goods store around 1890. This looks maybe 1900-1910? I'd sure appreciate help with this, thanks!

 

[bycin]

okey dokey... still wondering... I believe this might be late 1890s?

 

[Jonathan]

What a shame the front is torn. It looks 1901-03 to me with the bishop sleeves.

 

[sarah-jane]

That is a shame. Such a gorgeous colour. Hopefully, someone somewhere will be able to give it another lease of life.

 

[Pinkcoke]

I love the colour and design of this blouse. I think you could wear that with a high waisted maxi skirt and not have the damage show - I have one from the 70's just send it to me

 

[EndlessAlley]

details and color are simply gorgeous!

 

[bycin]

I learned more about the blouse... it's not torn, for one. And it's 1898. A friend found it in a book. That longer piece supposedly goes across the front and then is tucked into the skirt. I'll snap another pic of it on a mannequin correctly. Isn't the color yummy?

 

[bycin]

Oh, the sleeves... they were called 'pagoda sleeves' because of the construction at the wrists and poofing out like a bishop sleeve... what else? Oh that shortened side... right... that was shorter for the cross over piece to go over and be tucked in. Sometimes it had sort of belt loops, sometimes a sash sort of belt was worn over it altogether but more with something that resembled a dress not a suit.

 

[bycin]

Finally! Thanks for waiting. A fun bit of research for this one. : ))

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

It certainly is gorgeous, but I'm not convinced about the cross-over detail. Seems too symmetrical up top to be asymmetrical at bottom. And wouldn't it still have been cleanly finished, even at the cross-over area? Given how nicely it's made, I can't imagine a professionally sewn bodice having any raw, uneven edges.

Can't see the sleeves well enough to tell if they get really wide at the bottom. Pagoda sleeves get very wide on the way toward the wrists. They were all the rage in the 1860s. Jonathan, don't bishop sleeves come in at the wrist into a cuff, with billowy fabric above the cuff? Anyway, pagoda sleeve examples:

 

[sMarie]

I've seen many "unfinished" hems on Victorian / Edwardian bodices. The look of the hem didn't always matter because it was meant to be tucked in.

 

[bycin]

I have seen 'unfinished' hems on older pieces too.

Not sure what to call the sleeves. They are close to the wrist like a bishop sleeve BUT not as wide as a pagoda, pictures of which you've shared here. I think because the piece is late 1890s, things (sleeves, bustles, etc) were a bit more toned down, less grand for the period?

I am pretty sure, having handled the piece on myself and with a mannie, that this cross-over is the style.

 

[Pinkcoke]

The difference is your blouse has a finished hem at the back which would have continued round to the front. As the right hand side has also been cut or torn at the bottom I'm wondering if the front had a longer style such as two shaped tabs, and it was later altered.

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

Well, whatever and whenever it is, it is certainly beautiful. I hope it finds new life!

 

[bycin]

Melanie, I don't know... I didn't alter it so it's hard to know what it was like 'then.'

Thanks, I hope it finds a nice home too!