Victorian Cape or Overskirt?

grandmascloset

grandmascloset

Alumni
Another Victorian mystery item I need help with. The person I bought it from said it was a cape but to me it looks like an 1860's or 1870's over skirt as I obviously have it displayed in the photos. However it still doesn't look quite right to me. If it is an over skirt it would fasten in the back right?





 
grandmascloset, you haven't shown a photograph of it from the front (the side it fastens) but I think it looks like a late Victorian (1890s) capelet. If you're not sure, measure the diameter of the opening and compare it to waist and neck sizes. The neck will be less than 20" and the waist will be more (approximate sizes used as an example).

A photo taken from the side it fastens on will help. It looks like it's gathered more on the sides than the front and back, which suggests capelet more than skirt too. Fabulous colour!

Nicole
 
It's a polonaise from about 1867 when the skirts briefly do that triangular shape and are quite slim around the hips. The ones I have handeled usually open centre front but not always. That colour would have been called fuchsia or Magenta and was one of the new coal tar derived aniline dyes of the era.
 
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