Victorian Mystery Bodice 1860's?

grandmascloset

grandmascloset

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Victorian Mystery Bodice 1860\'s?

Hello
I have this unusual Victorian bodice I'm trying to identify. At first I thought it was from the 1860's due to the cut and construction. However what is throwing me off (mainly) is the closures in back. (hooks and eyes under decorative buttons)

The back closure and the V shaped neckline are telling me 1840's. Anybody have any idea? And oh check out those falsies!





 
grandmascloset, I think this is a theatrical costume.

Some questions: it looks like it's made of cotton velvet and....wool? Cotton? Silk? Can you identify the green fabric and the lining material? It looks disturbingly shiny. Is it hand sewn or machine sewn? Do you have a good close up image of the hooks and eyes? From what I can see, it looks a bit like a corset busk, and too shiny to be old.

I'm not sure what's going on with the bottom of it: from the front it looks like it might have been cropped (or maybe it's too short waisted for your mannequin) but on the inside, there's a facing and some little black threads as if it's been unpicked?

The construction looks to be too simple and poorly made to be 19th century.

Nicole
 
It reads as a hard spun wool (fustian) to me in the pics - perhaps a blend, like a linsey woolsey? The slightly raised waistline, centre back closure, murky colour, and deep V front, are all 1840s features, however, I don't like the black velvet trim, and I suspect it was added later (perhaps as a costume). There isn't any decorative attention put on the back closures of the 1840s and the contrast of the wide black velvet trim on the cuffs and collar with that dark teal is not an 1840s aesthetic. The polished brown cotton lining is typical of the 1840s - 1890s, however, if there is any lockstitch machine sewing then it would pretty well have to date after 1865.
 
I have a dress from the same period with the exact same type of falsies in them. The 1840s is a pretty dreary era for fashion - all they had were their breast measurements to perk up the silhouette!
 
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