Thursday, April 9, 2015

Fashions for April 1864

Thursday, April 9, 2015
1864 Ladies Fashions
Loretta reports:

Blame it on all the Victorian history books I’ve been reading lately (and will blog about before long)—or on Astrida Schaeffer’s luscious book, Embellishments.*  These and/or other forces unknown have helped soften my heart toward Victorian fashions, even those of the 1850s and 1860s, with the big skirts and sloping shoulders I once found so unappetizing. 

These days, though, looking into Godey’s Lady’s Book or Peterson’s Magazine, with an open mind, shows me the sexiness—yes! & maybe all the more so because it seemed to be so deeply suppressed in everyday life—and artistry of the styles.
1864 Fashions described
Images from Godey's Lady's Book April 1864, courtesy Internet Archive.

*More about this here.

Clicking on the image will enlarge it.  Clicking on the caption will allow you to read at the source, where you can learn more and enlarge images as needed.

2 comments:

Michelle Hamilton said...

I am glad to hear that you are learning to love the era of the hoop. The 1860s clothing are my favorite period of Victorian clothing, after all I am a historian of the Civil War. I have found this era of clothing to be very beautiful and as you mentioned very sexy! I recommend looking up on Pinterest images of well done recreations of 1860s clothing done by re eanactors to get a full understanding and appreciation for this era.

Cathy Spencer, Author said...

Since 3 of the 5 dresses were silk, there must have been a lot of little silkworms laying down their lives in the name of fashion. LOL!

 
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