Help Dating Victorian Era Plaid Walking Suit

DaisyandStella

DaisyandStella

VFG Member
Hi - I'd love to narrow down the era for this Victorian Tartan? plaid walking suit.
The skirt is fully lined with glazed cotton and has a pleated flounce near hem and hem protector.
The bodice jacket closes center front (believe buttons are replacements), has an hourglass shape with curved front and pointed back. It's lined with sateen and glazed cotton. It has a side attached inner waist closure with hook and eyes. Boning found only at one of the double side seams - it appears to have been removed from the other seam. Back seams do not have any boning.

I've seen some similarities in late 1870s-1880s as well as from the 1890s. The plaid - would this be called Tartan? doesn't feel like wool - it's not thick like traditional wool and has a slight coarse texture and the army green seems similar to a linen type possible mercerized.

Would love some input on dating and pinpointing material.

Thanks for your time!
Brooke
 

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My thoughts are circa 1899-1890. But I am far from an expert on this and we have a few members who could date it more accurately. I am over the moon for this, the suit is so sporty looking and the plaid is fantastic to see. It is quite a special garment.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
My thoughts are circa 1899-1890. But I am far from an expert on this and we have a few members who could date it more accurately. I am over the moon for this, the suit is so sporty looking and the plaid is fantastic to see. It is quite a special garment.
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Barbara do you think this would have been considered sportswear at the time?
 
I would certainly call that tartan. While tartan cloth is mostly associated with wool, the pattern is still called tartan when made in other fabrics.

It may or may not be a particular named tartan, such as the famous Royal Stewart tartan, but the idea of clan or family tartans was a Victorian invention anyway. There are almost countless variations of tartans. This pattern is quite similar to Royal Stewart tartan.
 
anothertimevintageapparel said:
Something about the skirt bothers me. Does it have bustle ties inside? Could it have been modified?
The plaids dont match up and the bodice is too full at the bottom.
Also, thanks for mentioning the VFG on your IG post
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Hi - I'm thinking the waistband was a modification. I've attached a few pics that hopefully show it better. Coloring is a tad off too.
The waistband has two button loop closures that I've shown at the left side as the gathers in the back I'd think would be center back. There are no bustle ties. Hope this helps!
 

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That bodice looks mid 1870s to me. The high contrast fabrics, the fitted sleeve cap, the wide and very decorative cuffs, and the button front with low fold over collar are all indications. Also the wide band of contrast shirring at the hem. But the skirt appears to have been restyled in the 1890s. That mis-matched bias seam at center front indicates it's been remade. Front skirts were almost always cut on the straight and on the fold. Maybe there was on olive green panel at the front to match the bodice?
Another reason I think 1870s rather than 1880s is that the skirts of the 1870s were full enough to be re-styled this way. The 1880s high bustle skirts were much slimmer and straighter with loads of draping. There wouldn't have been this much fabric available.
 
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pastperfect2 said:
That bodice looks mid 1870s to me. The high contrast fabrics, the fitted sleeve cap, the wide and very decorative cuffs, and the button front with low fold over collar are all indications. Also the wide band of contrast shitting at the hem. But the skirt appears to have been restyled in the 1890s. That mis-matched bias seam at center front indicates it's been remade. Front skirts were almost always cut on the straight and on the fold. Maybe there was on olive green panel at the front to match the bodice?
Another reason I think 1870s rather than 1880s is that the skirts of the 1870s were full enough to be re-styled this way. The 1880s high bustle skirts were much slimmer and straighter with loads of draping. There wouldn't have been this much fabric available.
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Thank you so much Hollis! Yes, I thought the waistband looked strange and also that seam positioning seems weird. The other thing - not shown in pics here - is whoever owned her before also added a black panel to the side of bodice that matches the skirt waistband. The panel was added with additional buttons to allow for a slightly larger bust size.
 
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