The Ladies TeaStop in and grab a quick cup of tea! All sorts of ladies issues are disscussed here. Both Ladies and Gentlemen are welcome to join in the conversations.
The ladies of our group are often asked "Did they really wear that?" This in part is due to the fact that we wear unconventional dress. When we go out to re-enactments we go dressed to the "nines" since we do not change clothes 6 times a day as etiquette often dictated.
But what we get questioned on the most is the patterns of fabrics we wear. Most people associate the fashions of the time to be dark and dreary. But the world did not live in sepia tone, it lived in color, and as we had touched on once before, anyaline dyes were new and the colors that they produced were tremendous.
I had read on another Civil War chat line a question of whether burgandy was a suitable color for a ballgown. And after not being able to even remotely figure out how to post a responce, I quickly abandoned that line and came back "home" so to speak. Yes! It would have been appropriate for a ballgown, although light colors were preferred since they reflected light better.
I have been taught, by my best friend and fellow re-enactor, to go to documented sources and to really look at the pictures out there, and not just to read a book.
A great way to see what women, and men, REALLY wore is to look at museum pieces. The following is a list of a few that I hope you may enjoy.
Dawna, it's one of those re-enactorisms in my opinion... Jenna; priceless links, thanks.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Actually I get that question about color from spectators and fellow re-enactors. There are some out there that only use one source for their research and take that as Bible. But if you look at other sources it is clear to see that colors of all kinds exsisted. If you want more links I have tons to share. But thought it best not to inundate the board with all of them. But there is so much out there in museums to look at.
Dawna: I think I have sent this site to you before, but for otheres this is a great Canadian site: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/global.php3?Lang=1&PageName=collection.ph p3&pageMenu=4
It's for the McCord Museum, and has a wonderful textile archives, and some of the most fantastic tin types and cdv's I have seen. Just wonderful. I have sent you pics from that site with all the fringed dresses. But it is a wealth of info. In the search area if you just type in silk, you will get so much info.
Thanks for sharing all these sites, Jenna. It is truly an eye-opener to see the various colors that were available; most of us here have always believed that the women wore drab little numbers that inspired the song "The Homespun Dress". But knowing about the dyes that were available really gives a much better sense of the era.
__________________ Thea
No one has permission to use any material from any of my posts on any CWT forum, the archives, or any other forum without my express written permission.
You're welcome. It is interesting to see that there was color that exsisted. I was just chatting with a fellow re-enactor from around here about a picture I had sent her of a woman wearing a very large plaid dress, and we both commented on the fact that is had to have been a very loud colored dress, and that it was nice to see such a large print. We are all too often told that there was a set of "rules" thought to be followed by women of that time, but who wrote these rules? Because I can show you pictures of just about anything to disprove these rules.
This has got to be one of my favorite dresses. The flounces are wonderful, and I just love purple, so to see it done so well in this dress does my heart good.
I was told that folks wore what was fashionable for them when they were younger. So, while something may be obsolete for a lady in her late teens or twenties, it may be acceptable a woman in her 30's-40's and so on and so forth. Same with the guys (with respects to male clothing in those days).
The first dress I ever purchased was a very pretty day dress in a dark pink color with tapestry trim around the sleeves and the hem of the dress. I still have it, and it is my very favorite dress. I bought it because it fit, perfectly, and I needed a dress to attend the ball of Mr. Brown's very first reenactment at Brierfield, AL. That was the most fun I think I'd ever had.
Since then, I've obtained two skirts that I was wearing with white blouses, because that was what I was told was easiest to do when you're first getting started. Both of the skirts are in pale blue/green because I had this notion that they only wore pale, drab colors unless they were "working girls" in the saloons and what not.
I am excited to say that I have just purchased my first, bright red and black, large plaid print dress and I can't wait to wear it! It's a "camp" dress? At least, that's what the woman who sold it called it, but it's going to be the perfect dress to wear when cooking, sewing, etc. around the camp during the day instead of trying to do all that in one of my better dresses.
I tell you, it was wonderful news to me to find out that ladies back then actually wore color.
__________________ 4th Alabama Infantry, Co. F., Law's Brigade and 79th New York "Highlanders"
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
Linear Mode
