Dancing the night away...

[grace]

Dear all,

Can a lady dance in her best day dress, if she wasn't wealthy enough for a ball gown? And if so, what would that day dress look like?

I'm new to the hobby and am just starting out. The field I want to study is dance, but I'm a student on a budget.

My persona so far is an Indiana farm girl living at home--father is a doctor, mother is a farmer's daughter. Father is from the South and left because he was the second son/wanted to become a doctor.

The money situation is rather like the situation in "Little Women".

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thank you very much!

grace

 

[LoriAnn]

I can page some knowledgeable women into the thread. Hopefully one or more will be along shortly.

@MaryDee @Yulie @Mrs. V @Belle Montgomery

 

[WJC]

I'm guessing since your character is "an Indiana farm girl" you won't have to wear a hoop skirt and be as trussed up as Scarlet O'Hara....

 

[grace]

For which praise the Lord! XD

No silk either...ah, well.

 

[LoriAnn]

No silk either...ah, well.

Sometimes less is more. Besides, it's not the dress. It's the girl in the dress.

 

[captaindrew]

Being a guy I can't tell you the ins and outs of dresses but the first couple of reenactments my other half went to she got a very simple day dress just to see if she liked it or not. She went to the dances and ladies teas and wasn't out of place at all. Well she loved it and now has several hoops and dresses.

 

[dixie1861]

Oh that's very exciting! I am really interested in reenacting as well. Hopefully someday! I can't wait to see what comes of your search.

Your "character" sounds amazing, by the way.

 

[MaryDee]

A day dress should be fine, but it should be the kind you would wear to call on a lawyer's or mayor's wife, not for cleaning the house. This would also be a dress you'd wear to an evening dinner. Later on, you might consider making a ball dress top of matching fabric to attach to the skirt of the day dress. Making the change does involve several hours of hand sewing, though, unless you get really skilled at it. (I'm not!) You'd of course have to buy the extra fabric when buying the fabric for the original day dress. Notice that the two older March girls each had a dressy silk dress (although old), except that Jo, true to form, had scorched the back of her skirt getting too close to the fire. Evidently the family's loss of fortune was relatively recent.

A young woman in your situation would probably have had two or three dresses--the newest one for Sunday best and daytime calls (which would also be what you'd wear for evening), the next newest one for everyday wear, and the oldest and scruffiest for the nasty farm chores.

If you're reenacting the 1856-1865 period, you definitely do want hoops or (preferably) a cage. You need only two petticoats (one under the hoops, a fuller one for over) instead of the half-dozen or more heavily starched petticoats used in earlier years. A cage with a circumference of 90" to 110" is ample. Once the steel cage was developed, it was universally adopted--far less weight, far less laundry and ironing, and cages were cheap. You would, of course, leave the hoops off while doing farm chores; nor should you wear them at a reenactment while you're around an open fire.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Sometimes less is more. Besides, it's not the dress. It's the girl in the dress.

Spot on . . . as some like to say.

The larger "hoop skirt" normally equates to more expensive maintenance costs in the long run.

 

[CWDF]

We frequently get the question at our dance demonstrations, "Why aren't your ladies in ball gowns?" The implication is that either (1) all ladies owned ball gowns or (2) only ladies who owned ball gowns attended balls. Neither is true. As was pointed out by MaryDee, a lady would wear her best dress to a ball, which for most ladies would be a "day dress" (long sleeves and neck high collar).

Here is an illustration from Harper's Weekly (April 9, 1864) showing a ball in Alabama with some of the ladies in day dresses.

Col. William Lincoln of the 34th Massachusetts described the variety of dresses at a ball held in Harpers Ferry in 1864 in somewhat humorous detail:

The ladies, God bless them! Were there in large numbers. And oh! The dresses! And Ah! The un-dresses! Sprigged Muslins, and other gauze-like fabrics, floated round forms of 200 pounds, at the least, of good solid adipose matter; and heavy, stiff black silks stood out from and helped cover skeletons, whose bones could almost be heard rattling an accompaniment to the music of the dance. Flashy calicoes contrasted with heavy, glaring red merinos. High-necked and long-sleeved dresses, jealously guarded from, perchance, a too searching eye the least particle of flesh, dry and withered too often, it is true; and again, there were other dresses so cut and disposed as to reveal the rich amplitude of shoulders and bosom to any who would not turn away. The room looked beautifully. A chandelier, made by a circle of bayonets, suspended from the ceiling, being particularly admired. For supper we had three varieties of cake, piled upon broad, shallow, white crockery dishes, sweet water grapes, carefully picked from the stem, stewed oysters, and a whitish, lumpy looking compound, unrecognizable by taste, but announced as chicken salad. This by a fashionable caterer from Baltimore.

If you would like a free Civil War Dance Manual that describes the dances in detail and has links to video clips, email [email protected]

Larry Keener-Farley
Dance Master
Victorian Dance Ensemble
Performing Troupe of the Civil War Dance Foundation
For pictures of our ladies dancing in day dresses, visit our Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Civil-War-Dance-Foundation/164556213606774
Our website www.civilwardance.org is currently off line being redesigned but should be back soon.

 

[grace]

Thank you all so much! This is very helpful and is making me feel much better about my upcoming ball on Saturday.

(Privately very very glad I don't have to have a ball gown to dance in!)

Now to actually finish the dang thing. And a satchel and deal with other details...!

 

[dixie1861]

Sorry, I'm just curious, how's the actual dancing coming? Are you trained?
You will do great--have fun!!

 

[grace]

I am, actually--but in English Country Dance! *laughing

I've been dancing country dances for the last five years. Contra, square, line, circle...waltzes, a few pavanes, and the odd reel or three. My dance 'mistress/master/mentors' say I'm quite good at English Country and I've been helping teach the new people squares and contra this year, so...yes?

Very much want to get into a group that dancing is a regular activity. And I want to learn how to call the dances. Someday...let's get those buttons covered in fabric first!

 

[dixie1861]

Very much want to get into a group that dancing is a regular activity. And I want to learn how to call the dances. Someday...let's get those buttons covered in fabric first![/QUOTE]

Oh that sounds so fun!! I'm sure you will do great. Are there lots of groups that specialize in the "older" kind of dancing? I guess are they called "country dances?" Haha, I'm sorta clueless. You'll have to show us the finished product!!

 

[grace]

I'm in a larger city, so yes! I actually belong to two groups. A 'contra' dance group (American folk dancing) and an SCA (the society for creative anachronism) group that specializes in English country dance. Depending on your location, the SCA is a wonderful resource.

Hence why I have wonderful, incorrect dresses for Civil War and Rev....

 

[dixie1861]

Oh, ok, cool! That sounds amazing.

I'm sure you will still look great, even if they're not perfectly "period correct." Dspecially when you're dancing like an expert! Well, you are an expert!

 

[Mrs. V]

I can page some knowledgeable women into the thread. Hopefully one or more will be along shortly.

@MaryDee @Yulie @Mrs. V @Belle Montgomery

Oops. Missed this yesterday. You can go to Amazon and buy a set of "bones" for 30 bucks. 4-5 hoops should do ya. If not, as you are a "farm girl" go with starched petticoats under your outfit. My persona is a farm woman as well, and my costume is her "sunday best". Best advice I was ever given is to assemble your outfit one peice at a time, according to what you find you need. For example, I made my dress, got my hoop...then, I made my pantaloons, then my chemise, then I got my corset...the last thing I really need to get is a good pair of boots, but the ones I have are ok..love the burgundy color..and I may pay to have a period correct pair made..oh! You really need a good fan..find one online that has wooden sticks, and maybe a battenburg lace. You won't be sorry..great prop, all the ladies have them, and they provide much needed cooling!

 

[MaryDee]

Actually, it's much better to start with the underpinnings, especially the corset, because it is essential that the dress be fitted over them! Take a look at Civil War era photos (CDVs)--you'll find lots online--and note how snugly the bodices are fitted. If not fitted over the corset, the bodice just won't look right. Take a look at some of the past "Caption This" photos on this site to see how you don't want to look!

Since I was able to get no help with the fitting, mine is not as good as it could be. My tendency to gain/lose (mostly gain) weight frequently doesn't help. I do have the excuse of being a very old lady!

 

[Mrs. V]

I only recently added a corset to my kit. I was very wary of it, as a large part of my presentation is music and I was afraid I would not be able to draw enough breath to sing.I do not use a microphone at all. I just do not tie my strings too tight.

I have learned though, if you are tied too loosely you have the issue of the front busk popping open! *Gasp* that's a tricky fix!

 

[MaryDee]

Supposedly the term "loose woman" had to do with loose lacing of the corset. If it's loose enough for the front busk to pop open, I can see why--that would certainly invite closer exploration!

Singing involves breathing from the abdomen, although unfortunately the diaphragm (the muscle involved) is still under the corset. But opera singers all wore corsets (there were no bras back then), so it's possible! Even if not singing, you don't want the corset so snug that you can't breathe normally.

I use a corded corset. Part of the reason is that thanks to a long-ago skiing injury, I can't bend both knees, so I have to bend over to pick things up even though it's not the approved ergonomic way. So no busk for me! The corded corset is an alternative for those with an impression involving hard physical labor, such as laundry.