1860s Basic Clothes for man and woman, for the Robbins House, 2015
The Robbins House is just across the street from the Old Manse in Concord, so when the organization began to think about a reenacting program they turned to the longer-established Manse folks for advice. They recommended me as a costumer! The Robbins House was looking for simple working-class outfits for male and female free blacks, from around 1860. Luckily working-class garments are fairly period flexible - the outfits they ended up with were fairly neutral for a period from the late 1840s through the 1860s. The only special condition setting these clothes apart from any others of the period was the choice of linen as fabric. Cotton was widely boycotted in the North by abolitionists (to which these free blacks were included), so the choice was between wool and linen as basic fabrics. For ease of care and for the comfort of modern wearers linen was chosen. I think wool is technically more accurate (just because it was easier to get in period), but that's very nitpicky for an organizations very first foray into historical clothing. Plus it would have been much more expensive and that was a deal-breaker.
Chemise
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Petticoat with tucks
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Dress with collar and cuffs
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ughhhhh just look at that cute little rick-rack!
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Lady's hat
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First, the woman's clothes
I started off with a chemise. Partly that's for historical accuracy, but partly it's because, well, there is a function to that funny historical underwear. Even though the day dress is technically washable, I know from experience that something with squidgy cartridge pleating all across the back is super irritating to try to dry. So, wear a chemise and don't get the outer garment as dirty! That's what I figure. I am ridiculously proud of the neckline of the chemise. Just look at that cutie rickrack! I saw that on some other costumer's 1860s shift and knew I wanted it (and maybe one day I'll make myself one too). And those little buttons and loops... so preeeety.
Then of course there's a petticoat. I maintain that any historical style that was originally worn with petticoats will look wrong unless there's at least one petticoat under there, not least because it often prevents the skirt from getting caught between the legs (both unladylike and massively annoying). 1860s fashionable wear has really massive skirts, better suited by - well, by more than just one petticoat, but that can always be amended later. In the hopes of giving this petticoat a bit more body, there are a couple lines of cording in the hem area, and of course copious tucks. Theoretically the tucks also make the length adjustable, but in my experience, only organizations with dedicated costumers ever think to adjust length (and especially not if the actor is only wearing the costume for one day).
And the most exciting bit, the day dress! The skirt has a tuck too, for theoretical alterations and for a bit of hem body. (There's also a massive hem guard. I forget how massive, but probably like 6 inches or something.) The back of the skirt is put to the bodice with cartridge pleats, my favorite historical technique (and of course the one that can't really be imitated on a sewing machine). The front waist has a drawstring. The folks at the Robbins House had no idea how big their reenactors were going to be, so it was important for the dress to be as adjustable as possible, tricky in a period that really likes its smooth custom fit bodices. A gathered waist on a work or day dress isn't unheard of in the 1860s, so it seemed all right. The front closes with hooks and eyes. There was a weird patterning mistake on the shape of the center front, but it's mostly unnoticeable because all the gathering eats it. (Which is good - it was too late to turn back by the time I noticed the issue and I was absolutely petrified that it would be some big obvious embarrassing mistake. Out of those the one thing it is not is obvious, so it's ok.) The plain white collar and cuffs are sewn in - I find that they make a huuuuuge difference in how historical an 1860s dress looks.
Lastly, the hat. It's just one of those plain straw ones, because a bonnet was going to be too labor intensive and thus too expensive. It's not too bad as authenticity goes, though it depends who you ask. It's altered from a craft store straw hat, which I love for their stiffness.
I started off with a chemise. Partly that's for historical accuracy, but partly it's because, well, there is a function to that funny historical underwear. Even though the day dress is technically washable, I know from experience that something with squidgy cartridge pleating all across the back is super irritating to try to dry. So, wear a chemise and don't get the outer garment as dirty! That's what I figure. I am ridiculously proud of the neckline of the chemise. Just look at that cutie rickrack! I saw that on some other costumer's 1860s shift and knew I wanted it (and maybe one day I'll make myself one too). And those little buttons and loops... so preeeety.
Then of course there's a petticoat. I maintain that any historical style that was originally worn with petticoats will look wrong unless there's at least one petticoat under there, not least because it often prevents the skirt from getting caught between the legs (both unladylike and massively annoying). 1860s fashionable wear has really massive skirts, better suited by - well, by more than just one petticoat, but that can always be amended later. In the hopes of giving this petticoat a bit more body, there are a couple lines of cording in the hem area, and of course copious tucks. Theoretically the tucks also make the length adjustable, but in my experience, only organizations with dedicated costumers ever think to adjust length (and especially not if the actor is only wearing the costume for one day).
And the most exciting bit, the day dress! The skirt has a tuck too, for theoretical alterations and for a bit of hem body. (There's also a massive hem guard. I forget how massive, but probably like 6 inches or something.) The back of the skirt is put to the bodice with cartridge pleats, my favorite historical technique (and of course the one that can't really be imitated on a sewing machine). The front waist has a drawstring. The folks at the Robbins House had no idea how big their reenactors were going to be, so it was important for the dress to be as adjustable as possible, tricky in a period that really likes its smooth custom fit bodices. A gathered waist on a work or day dress isn't unheard of in the 1860s, so it seemed all right. The front closes with hooks and eyes. There was a weird patterning mistake on the shape of the center front, but it's mostly unnoticeable because all the gathering eats it. (Which is good - it was too late to turn back by the time I noticed the issue and I was absolutely petrified that it would be some big obvious embarrassing mistake. Out of those the one thing it is not is obvious, so it's ok.) The plain white collar and cuffs are sewn in - I find that they make a huuuuuge difference in how historical an 1860s dress looks.
Lastly, the hat. It's just one of those plain straw ones, because a bonnet was going to be too labor intensive and thus too expensive. It's not too bad as authenticity goes, though it depends who you ask. It's altered from a craft store straw hat, which I love for their stiffness.
Work Shirt
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Work Pants and button suspenders!
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the "Amish Straw Hat"
The waist-adjustment system
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And the man's costume:
Men's is harder. The skills to tailor a coat (even a period coat) are kind of surprisingly different from the ones used in dress-making (for which I blame good ol' fashioned sexism in the tailoring industry, but that's for another day). Also, pants are frustrating because butts are all different shapes and make fitting very tricky - especially when fitting a theoretical person instead of a real one. Luckily, I only had to contend with one of this stumbling places because the man at the Robbins House was supposed to be a farmer-laborer in his work clothes, so we could get away with shirt sleeves.
The shirt is just a plain old standing-collar period shirt, appropriate for like 1700 through 1880 or something like that. The shirt is enORMOUS, because the ideal body type for the historical guy is 6'2" and built like a football player (based on the textual references, of course). Both the shirt and pants are therefore comically too large for my mannequin.
The pants are thick linen, with a button fly and loads of suspender buttons. In order to hopefully make the pants adjustable, there are three sets of eyelets around the waist which can be drawn together with little bits of lacing string to get a smaller waist measurement without, you know, a regular belt or something like that. I'm pretty sure I left the legs completely unhemmed, with exhortations to "at least cuff them" when some actor puts them on.
I did not make the hat or the suspenders, or even alter them, but just ordered them online, at the request of the Robbins House people, who, I suppose, trusted me to make the Right Decision. The hat is sold as an "Amish straw hat", and does look like the ones the Amish wear. And was probably made by Amish folks too for all I know, which seems quite likely given how stiff and solid the hat is. It's a sort of nice middle ground between a top hat and a plain straw work hat - and I think there's a bit of evidence for hats in such a size and shape from the early-mid 1800s (she said vaguely). The suspenders are just button suspenders, totally boring and unremarkable. And they let out realllly long too, which will come in handy if they ever get that 6'2" guy.
Men's is harder. The skills to tailor a coat (even a period coat) are kind of surprisingly different from the ones used in dress-making (for which I blame good ol' fashioned sexism in the tailoring industry, but that's for another day). Also, pants are frustrating because butts are all different shapes and make fitting very tricky - especially when fitting a theoretical person instead of a real one. Luckily, I only had to contend with one of this stumbling places because the man at the Robbins House was supposed to be a farmer-laborer in his work clothes, so we could get away with shirt sleeves.
The shirt is just a plain old standing-collar period shirt, appropriate for like 1700 through 1880 or something like that. The shirt is enORMOUS, because the ideal body type for the historical guy is 6'2" and built like a football player (based on the textual references, of course). Both the shirt and pants are therefore comically too large for my mannequin.
The pants are thick linen, with a button fly and loads of suspender buttons. In order to hopefully make the pants adjustable, there are three sets of eyelets around the waist which can be drawn together with little bits of lacing string to get a smaller waist measurement without, you know, a regular belt or something like that. I'm pretty sure I left the legs completely unhemmed, with exhortations to "at least cuff them" when some actor puts them on.
I did not make the hat or the suspenders, or even alter them, but just ordered them online, at the request of the Robbins House people, who, I suppose, trusted me to make the Right Decision. The hat is sold as an "Amish straw hat", and does look like the ones the Amish wear. And was probably made by Amish folks too for all I know, which seems quite likely given how stiff and solid the hat is. It's a sort of nice middle ground between a top hat and a plain straw work hat - and I think there's a bit of evidence for hats in such a size and shape from the early-mid 1800s (she said vaguely). The suspenders are just button suspenders, totally boring and unremarkable. And they let out realllly long too, which will come in handy if they ever get that 6'2" guy.
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I sent off this commission with my first full-fancy brochure. It's focused on how-to-wear instructions, and on appropriate hair styles.
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Brown Silk Dress for Diann of The Old Manse, 2016
Dress, front, with cap and reticule (and shift and petticoat)
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And side
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And with fichu! I wish it had the bonnet in there too (although really that needs a detail shot)
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I had done a fair bit of work with the Old Manse already when Diann (who had been my boss there) asked me to make her a new dress. She sometimes reenacts as one of the house's residents, and although she had a dress for the purpose already, she was not satisfied with the fit and thought that I could improve both fit and historicity.
The lady she reenacts is from 1824, but she wanted something with a little more flexibility as far as period. I designed for her this brown silk dress. The silhouette is true to the 1820s while still being simple enough to pass for 1810s or 1790s with the judicious application of accessories. The Old Manse doesn't have an established reenacting program (it's pretty much just me), so there isn't the need or the budget for different dresses to suit every period.
Of course I wanted to encourage a little more historical accuracy anyhow, so I threw in a shift, a petticoat with padded hem, a fichu, this hilarious (or hilariously excellent) cap and the brown reticule. AND I made over her black bonnet - it had been a very 1780s black silk "market bonnet", so I took in the fullness of the crown with stitched-down vertical pleats to bring it closer to the jockey cap sort of styles of the 1810s. Hats don't do flexible periods very well - they're one of the accessories that one ought to change out to shift the dress's period - so I aimed for a style that was achievable given the bonnet's starting shape, and one that could be plausible with the dress's primary period of early 1820s (luckily, the 1820's lady in question is about 84, and likely to be a bit out of fashion).
The lady she reenacts is from 1824, but she wanted something with a little more flexibility as far as period. I designed for her this brown silk dress. The silhouette is true to the 1820s while still being simple enough to pass for 1810s or 1790s with the judicious application of accessories. The Old Manse doesn't have an established reenacting program (it's pretty much just me), so there isn't the need or the budget for different dresses to suit every period.
Of course I wanted to encourage a little more historical accuracy anyhow, so I threw in a shift, a petticoat with padded hem, a fichu, this hilarious (or hilariously excellent) cap and the brown reticule. AND I made over her black bonnet - it had been a very 1780s black silk "market bonnet", so I took in the fullness of the crown with stitched-down vertical pleats to bring it closer to the jockey cap sort of styles of the 1810s. Hats don't do flexible periods very well - they're one of the accessories that one ought to change out to shift the dress's period - so I aimed for a style that was achievable given the bonnet's starting shape, and one that could be plausible with the dress's primary period of early 1820s (luckily, the 1820's lady in question is about 84, and likely to be a bit out of fashion).
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I sent this dress off with a detailed care sheet. The end of the sheet had accessorizing tips, which were illustrated by hand in colored pencil after I'd printed it out (so that's why there are funny blank spots in that section).
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Black 1824 Dress for Diann at the Old Manse, 2017
Dress Front
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Dress back
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bodice detail
puff sleeve detail
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This dress was a makeover of Diann's original 1820s dress. The idea was to make something both wearable and useful as a teaching aid, so I took care to use historical methods. Or at least, hand stitched seams and no overlocking on the inside edges. Diann left it up to me to make this however I thought was best. It's a pretty thin silk taffeta, so I flatlined the whole thing in thin cotton to give it a bit more stiffness, especially in the skirt and sleeves. The dress has pleats under the bust for shaping, and two drawstrings in the back to hopefully make it adjustable for some theoretical future wearers. I was working with the fabric that had originally been part of the previous dress (check out the blog post about it) so that limited the size and the design lines somewhat. The puff sleeves are held in that puff shape by little bits of twill tape running between the armseye and the top of the lower sleeve. This achieves a puff that is more droopy than perky, but it's all right, considering.
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Because this dress was intended to be a teaching tool, I accompanied it with a very thorough info pamphlet, which includes the basics of 1820s fashion, along with details about the methods of construction. All this was illustrated in original colored pencil drawings - these were photographed and have been re-inserted into the digital version, but their true cuteness is still reserved for the originals.
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Linsey-Woolsey 1850s Dress for Elon, 2017
dress front view
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and side
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fiddle back seams
my handwritten care note
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I didn't make many notes while doing this project, so many of the details are a bit fuzzy now. Elon, a reenactor and educator, got my name from the Robbins House when she was looking for someone to costume her impression. At least at that time, she reenacted a freed slave from the mid-atlantic, based on auto-biographical texts. It was very important to her that the dress be real linsey-woolsey - it was a reference to a specific line in her text, and a jumping-off point for a larger discussion about northern industry's contributions to slavery.
The dress is meant to evoke the sort of garment provided by slave-holders to their captives. The shaping is pretty minimal and neutral, which is both accurate for a very simple garment and also somewhat flexible in terms of exact time period. It closes in front with hooks and eyes. I think the skirt is gathered on with tiny cartridge pleats, but it might just be run-of-the-mill gathers, it's hard to tell. The bodice and sleeves are completely lined because the fabric is quite scratchy.
I sent this off with a little hand-written note about care and wearing. It was clear to me that Elon had done a fair bit of research as far as clothes and hair were concerned, so I felt certain that she didn't particularly need my help on that front.
The dress is meant to evoke the sort of garment provided by slave-holders to their captives. The shaping is pretty minimal and neutral, which is both accurate for a very simple garment and also somewhat flexible in terms of exact time period. It closes in front with hooks and eyes. I think the skirt is gathered on with tiny cartridge pleats, but it might just be run-of-the-mill gathers, it's hard to tell. The bodice and sleeves are completely lined because the fabric is quite scratchy.
I sent this off with a little hand-written note about care and wearing. It was clear to me that Elon had done a fair bit of research as far as clothes and hair were concerned, so I felt certain that she didn't particularly need my help on that front.
Quaker Plain Dress from c1900 for my Aunt, 2017
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My aunt wanted a Quaker plain dress in the style of the turn of the 20th century, for an important event at her quarterly meeting. She had both family pictures and a few extant garments from the late 1800s or early 1900s, which she wanted to base this dress on. Quaker dress "style lines" are harder to pin down than fashions contemporary to their period, since the whole idea of "plain dress" was to step away from fashions of the world. This is a very simple dress, pretty neutral period-wise. It is shaped in the bust with darts, some gathering in the sleeve head, and a simple gathered skirt. It closes with hooks and eyes, which is one detail which can very firmly be ascribed to Quaker dress.
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With this dress I sent a little letter summing up my research about Quaker plain dress from the 19th century. I'm not sure if she was interested in it, but frankly I couldn't help myself.
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Six Outfits for the Wayside History Players, 2017-18
This is my biggest project to date! The Wayside (which is part of the Minuteman National Historic Park) needed four 1840s dresses and two 1770s dresses, among a number of other periods, and determined that these specific garments couldn't be purchased off the rack with reliable historicity (which is pretty true, in comparison to 1860s and some other later periods). They got my name from the Old Manse, and we went from there. They had already purchased all the fabric, and some patterns for the 1840s. I got pretty free rein on design and construction, and I had a party.
red print
back view
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Blue print
front closure
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a shift
Blue outer petticoat
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An inner petticoat
tan petticoat side view
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Lets start with two 1770s dresses, though I finished them last. The patterned fabrics here were reproduction prints, judging by the text in the selvedges. I drafted my own pattern for this, first on myself and then with alterations to fit a shorter person, and some different widths. They wanted the open fronted shape, so the dresses are identical in cut but not in size or color. These needed some size adjustability, so I extended the front edges a bunch, with the intent that they'd be folded over to fit and then closed with pins. I didn't like the idea of giving pin-closed garments to people who aren't accustomed to them, but there wasn't a better way to make these more adjustable. (Lacing under sack-back pleats would do, but I'm not sure that's any easier for the un-practiced - and that dress shape is probably less accurate for the time, place, and social class.) I chose to make these with a full back waist seam, instead of en forreau, because continuous pleats were too much of a pain in the butt for the budget.
Each dress is accompanied by a shift, an inner petticoat, and an outer petticoat. No stays, because its tricky to make those hyper-adjustable without being uncomfortable, and for cost reasons. Without stays, there's a bit more danger from the pins at the dress opening, and I think there's a noticeable fit and posture difference, but it will have to do. Hopefully the youth with make an effort to sit up straight.
Each dress is accompanied by a shift, an inner petticoat, and an outer petticoat. No stays, because its tricky to make those hyper-adjustable without being uncomfortable, and for cost reasons. Without stays, there's a bit more danger from the pins at the dress opening, and I think there's a noticeable fit and posture difference, but it will have to do. Hopefully the youth with make an effort to sit up straight.
white with green plaid
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grey with blue/brown plaid
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brown with brown plaid
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blue with grey/brown plaid
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front with revers
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pleated fan front, with front opening
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plain front with sleeve jockeys
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gathered fan front
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closures
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labels
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a shift
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a petticoat
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Then there were the four 1840s dresses. These were based on the Truly Victorian German Day Dress pattern. I found the pattern pretty good - the pieces certainly fit together, and I could follow the instructions well enough. Main drawbacks were that the front bodice point dipped really low on the larger sizes (improbably so), and that the pattern sizing depended on an "across the back" measurement which no one could get me accurately, so I had to fudge it. I added a lot more piping to the seams than I think they expected me to do. I took advantage of the pattern options to make 4 dresses that all are slightly different styles, which I think is super necessary when trying to differentiate between these plaids, which are so harmonious they might as well be in unison. For one dress I actually altered the pattern for a front opening and slightly pointed neckline. I added a collar and cuffs to the last three dresses - I sent the first dress off without them, and felt that all the pictures looked not-quite-right.
Each dress is accompanied by a shift and a petticoat. No corsets, again due to budget and sizing issues. I put the petticoats on wide drawstring yokes, so the fullness definitely falls below the dress bodice point. There are a few extant examples of such a thing, and the bodice points on the pattern are really so low that I felt there needed to be some concessions made.
Each dress is accompanied by a shift and a petticoat. No corsets, again due to budget and sizing issues. I put the petticoats on wide drawstring yokes, so the fullness definitely falls below the dress bodice point. There are a few extant examples of such a thing, and the bodice points on the pattern are really so low that I felt there needed to be some concessions made.
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These dresses are accompanied by my most thorough info brochure to date. It includes a brief description of the evolution of fashion through all the periods reenacted at the wayside, and hairstyle recommendations. The Wayside History Players work with historical persons from 1770, 1840, 1860, and 1905, so I really felt the need to be super detailed. Also, I had the opportunity to see the young actors in some of the store-bought costumes, doing their tour thing, before I began work on the clothes that I made, and I was most bothered by the lack of period or even semi-period hairstyles - to my eye it made the costumes look more costume-y than necessary. So I resolved to include very detailed hair information - for boys too, since they have some in the program as well.
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