Morning Sacque: 1810 or 1840?

crinolinegirl

crinolinegirl

Alumni
I got this lovely lady's morning sacque in a bag of Victorian whites. At first I thought it was early 1840's but then I tried it on and thought I looked more Regency (about 1810) than Victorian, LOL!
Its completely handsewn with the minutest of stitches, much nicer and neater stitching than most later 19th century stuff. It also has triangular gussets on each shoulder near the collar as well as having them under each armpit.
I love the collar on it as you can fold it down or wear it up depending, I guess, on the time of year- no central heating then!

This one has truly stumpified me.
Any ideas? :)

<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque2.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque4.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque4.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque5.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque6.jpg">
<img src="http://www.corsetsandcrinolines.com/fsimages/undies/sacque7.jpg">

Lei
 
Oddly enough, that bears a really strong resemblence to the man's shirt pattern in Norah Waugh's Cut of Mens Clothing, down to the triangular inserts at the collar and shoulder intersection. She dates the pattern from 1700 - 1810. Big help, eh?

On the other hand, she shows the shirt with a ruffled placket front rather than a button front.

Iam not saying this is a man's shirt, just that it resembles that pattern.

If I had to give it a blind vote, I'd go for the earlier date.

Hollis
 
Thanks Hollis! :)

Those triangular gussets puzzle me as someone once told me that they had been used for centuries but of course I can't find anythihg written about them in my books and don't have access to any REALLY old shirts :)
I've seen them on underarms before with 1860 and before stuff but the ones of the shoulders are puzzling.

Lei
 
It's because of the cut. The sleeves and body are cut very square. No curved edges. The triangles under the arm give the underarm seam some curve at what would otherwise be a very sharp right angle and a tension point. The triangles at the neck add some curve around to the neck edge and make it possible to gather the neck and set the straight collar on.

Modern shoulder seams incorporate a slope to accomplish this , and sleeves and underarms are now cut curved.

Now you may ask - why not incorporate these tiny wedges in the piece and not have to cut little triangles out? My guess is it has to do with widths of fabrics, using the selvedge and avoiding waste at a time when fabric was much more expensive.

I really don't have any idea on the date, just recognized the construction!
Hollis
 
This is very interesting to me too...I don't have much exposure to shirts and blouses that old. Of course, there were costumes in the theater...but those were constructed more modernly of course, and items in museums you don't get to examine closely enough to really check them out. They are under a coat as an ensemble behind a glass case.
 
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