The Real Victorian: Antebellum period

Showing posts with label Antebellum period. Show all posts

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Victorian Lady in Carriage Dress, 1860

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

A page from Godey's Lady's Book in 1860 (I think it is from June or July? I am not sure as the cover is missing). The description for the dress reads:

The Agatha. ― Dress of pale Pomona green taffetas; the under skirt having a horizontal trimming of black silk set on with a slight fulness (sic); the upper skirt has a diagonal trimming to correspond; corsage square, pagoda sleeves, rather long and flowing.

At the top of the page is an embroidery pattern for a child's skirt.

You can download a free 4" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for cardmaking, collage, crafts or junk journal projects.

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Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Victorian Lady in a Gored Robe, 1860

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

A page from Godey's Lady's Book in 1860 (I think it is from July or August; I am not sure as the cover is missing). The description for the dress reads:

La Princesse. ― This carriage or home-dress is another variation of the gored robe, the skirt coming in at the waist in broad, square plaits; the stuff or material for this season of the year is a light reps cloth, of silk or worsted in naroow, horizontal stripes; flat bows of silk, the prevailing color of the dress. Bonnet of Cobourg straw, with a Clotilde veil.

At the top of the page is an embroidery pattern for a shirt bosom.

You can download a free 4" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for cardmaking, collage, crafts or junk journal projects.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Tears at Twilight, 1857

Labels: 1850s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness.
They are a sign of a pure heart.
― José N. Harris, MI VIDA: A Story of Faith, Hope and Love

Hand-tinted colour illustration in an issue of Peterson's Magazine from 1857, showng two ladies in a garden at twilight. One of the ladies, wearing a richly beaded blue ball gown, is crying while the other lady, in a white gown adorned with roses, is trying to console her.

You can download a free ready-to-print 6" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without any watermark for cardmaking, collage, craft or framed art projects by clicking here.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Gossip, 1860

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

Original, first-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate (in full color) from the March 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. This image shows four Victorian ladies, two in evening dresses and two in walking dresses. Illustration has only been lightly retouched to retain authentic antique details. Colours remain bright and vibrant. Suitable as a framed print (perhaps for a sewing or crafts room), a cover for a card or a journal, or even as a background in a design project.

The description for the costumes (from left to right):

Fig. 1. -- Costume for full dress reception, wedding, or opera. Dress of peach blossom taffeta, the skirt covered by groups of pinked flounces; corsage round, and ornamented by macaroons of the silk; bell-shaped sleeves, cut open on the forearm, and confined by a lacing of ribbon, displaying a lace undersleeve terminating in ruffles at the wrist. Bonnet of rose-colored crape and blonde.

Fig. 2. -- Carriage dress, also suitable for dinner. Emerald green taffeta, covered by narrow flounces of black silk; the sleeve and corsage having narrow ruffles to correspond, set on in hollow box plaits; drooping bows on the front of the corsageof black taffeta ribbon and lace. Leghorn bonnet, lined with emerald green silk, with strings and plume of the same shade; a single line of blonde borders the face, instead of the inevitable bonnet cap.

Fig. 3. -- Walking-dress for a young lady. Dress and mantle of gray poplin, a lighter material than that was worn the past winter, and very well suited for travelling dresses; it is crossed by a silk bar or cord of black. Mantle trimmed by a broad ruche of the same, goffered on. Drawn hat of blue silk and ribbon ruches, the brim rolled slightly from the face. The whole costume is simple, new, and stylish.

Fig. 4. -- Walking-dress of dark stone-colored silk, chinée with black. The skirt is arranged with one deep flounce, headed by five narrow ones, all both bound and headed with crimson silk. The sleeves correspond in style. Shawl-shaped mantelet of the same. Chic bonnet, with rose-colored ribbon and flat black velvet loops.

You can download the high-res 9.5" x 6" @ 300 ppi (2850 x 1800 pixels) illustration without a watermark here. Lovely as a framed print but can also be used as a cover for a journal or in other graphic design projects.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Taking an Airing (Dressed for the Outdoors), 1860

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

An antique fashion illustration that shows a group of four women and one child in a park, elegantly dressed in styles from the year 1860. The description of the outfits, from left to right, are as follows:

Fig. 1. -- Dress of apple green taffeta, shaded with black, a spray of leaves broché in black, at regular intervals; corsage plain and high; sleeves demi long, and of a narrow pagoda shape, trimmed with flat bows of apple green ribbon, as are the skirt and corsage, in a continuous line. Bonnet of peach blossom crape, with a fall of blonde. Rich lace shawl, lined with black marceline.

Fig. 2. -- Dress of summer poplin, with bars of mauve, or down stripes of black, crossing the white ground; each breadth is separated by a ruche of mauve-colored ribbon, and bows of the same extend down the side breadths. Ceinture or waist ribbon of the same, with flowing ends, also shoulder knots. Black lace bonnet, with field flowers.

Fig. 3. -- Dress of blue challais, solid color, trimmed with ruches of the same material. Leghorn garden hat.

Fig. 4. -- Walking-dress of plain taffeta, in ten flounces; each flounce bordered and headed by a plain row of black velvet. Drawn hat of white silk.

Child's dress of pink challais, with tablier front. Net for the hair, tied to the right with a knot of black velvet ribbon.

You can download the high-res 9" x 14" @ 300 ppi (1800 x 2850 pixels) JPEG without a watermark here. Lovely as a framed print but can also be used as a cover for a journal or in other graphic design projects.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Dresses of Silk, 1857

Labels: 1850s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

A fashion illustration in full colour from my collection of Peterson's Magazine, December 1857 issue. The magazine describes the dresses as:

On the left, a dress of black silk, trimmed with nine rows of black velvet, graduated in width, and edged with black lace. The body is made with a basque and berthe, and trimmed to correspond with the skirt. The sleeves are of the pagoda shape, open on the inside of the arm.

On the right is a dress of chestnut-colored heavy silk. The skirt is very full, and trimmed on each side with two rows of velvet of a darker shade of brown than the silk. A row of velvet buttons is placed down the side of each band of velvet. The body is made without a basque, but with lappets in front, edged with a brown silk fringe. There is also a berthe formed of velvet and fringe. The sleeves are very wide, made with a cap or jockey, and trimmed to correspond with the body.

To download a free, high-res 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark, please click here.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: How Do I Look? (1860)

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

Original, first-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate from the February 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. The description for the costumes (from left to right):

Fig. 1. -- Evening-dress of white silk, with two skirts; the lower one has a flounce of lace, headed by a puffing of silk, caught at intervals with sprays of crimson salvia; the upper skirt is in longitudinal puffs, finished in the same manner; puffed and pointed corsage trimmed with salvia; round wreath of the same for the hair.

Fig. 2. -- Evening-dress of rose-colored silk; the lower skirt trimmed with four straight flounces, or single folds of the silk, edged by a shell ruche of the same; the upper skirt has corresponding volantes arranged as a tunic to the right; low, pointed corsage, with Grecian folds, trimmed by a flounce and heading of lace, the fall is crossed at the bouquet de corsage, and is continued in graceful lapels. Round wreath of blush roses without foliage, as in bouquet de corsage.

Fig. 3. -- Dress for the opera. Material, gray moire, with ribbons of deep bright crimson sewn on flat. Opera cloak of white cashmere, trimmed by several rows of swan's-down; Olga sleeve, and graceful hood with tassel.

Fig. 4. -- Evening-dress of white silk, with triple flounces, very deep; under each flounce of white appears an alternating flounce of blue; the drapery of the corsage and the sleeves has the same feature. Wreath of blue convolvulus, with foliage and tendrils.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: The Bride, 1860

Labels: 1860s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Bridal fashions, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

First-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate (in full color) from the January 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. The description from the book reads as follows:

The Bride's Toilet. -- Gored dress of thick white silk, sloped to the hips, the only ornament being flat bows of white satin ribbon, fastened by pearl buckles in the centre; these extend from the throat to the hem of the skirt. Veil of thulle. Wreath, mounted in the coronet form, of fine flowers, jessamine, and rose-buds.

From left to right:

Fig. 1. -- Dress of queen's purple moire; the skirt full and plain, ornamented by a tablier trimmed of black Chantilly lace, placed spirally on each side of the front breadth, and following the opening of the corsage around the throat. From the waist line to the hem of the skirt is placed a row of rosettes of silk and lace. Sleeves, quite tight at the shoulder, and widening a little to the parement or turned back cuff. Undersleeves and chemisette of point lace. Bonnet of white therry velvet with white plumes.

Fig. 2. -- Dress of steel blue and black Bayadere stripes on a white ground, suited, at this season, only at dinner, evening, or dress receptions. The sleeve is new, and extremely pretty; corsage plain, and in double points at the waist. Bonnet of white crape, with wreaths of bluish roses outside and in; strings of rose-colored ribbon.

Fig. 3. -- Dress of Azof green moire, made en surplis, or tending decidedly to one side, in the arrangement of the trimming, which consists of lappet ornaments in black lace; corsage open after the style of a vest, or en gilet.

Fig. 4. -- Robe or pattern dress, of steel blue silk, with a border and tablier front of velvet, a light shade of groseille, with a raised figure in black, and tassels of groseille at the end of each bar. The sleeves are quite tight, with caps and cuffs of the velvet. Bonnet of white crape. Clotilde veil of blonde.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Morning and Dinner Dresses, 1857

Labels: 1850s fashion, American fashion, Antebellum period, Fashion history, Pre-Civil War fashion, Victorian fashion, Victorian ladies

A fashion illustration from my collection of Peterson's Magazine, July 1857 issue. From the magazine, the description of the dresses are:

On the left, a morning dress of white cambric, trimmed in front in the apron style with insertions and heavy worked rufflings. The corsage is made with a basque and ornamented to correspond with the skirt.

On the right, a dinner dress of white muslin, trimmed with three flounces richly embroidered. Corsage high. A small mantle of white muslin, embroidered.