Friday’s Fashion Plate
1860 Ballgown & Visiting Dress
This fashion plate is French and comes from Journal Des Demoiselles. It contains a ballgown and a visiting dress from 1860.
Journal Des Demoiselles, 1860
In 1860, hoopskirts were not yet elliptical in shape, but were still round and quite wide. A wire crinoline would have been worn to provide this excessive bell shape. You can see the lingering influence of 1850s styles in the shape of the bertha, the long waist, and the tiered ruffles on the ballgown’s skirt.
Left
The ballgown on the left appears to be made from a dark gray or slate blue silk, and if you look closely, has a subtle horizontal stripe pattern. It has a low waist, large puffed sleeves, and an off-the-shoulder décolletage. The curving V-shaped bertha consists of two tiers of tightly gathered ruffles, an ungathered band that dips down in the center, and a triangle of lace for modesty’s sake. The skirt is long and full, with seven tiers of gathered ruffles that begin about halfway down.
She wears matching bracelets on her wrists and a short pearl necklace. Her hair is parted in the center, curves back with some fullness on the sides, and is gathered into what appears to be a snood that matches her dress.
Right
What appears to be a visiting dress is cerulean blue and is likely made of a thin wool or cotton. It has a high neck, full, rounded skirt, and long sleeves. The shoulder seam is well off the shoulder, which matches the time frame of the very early 1860s. The sleeves have a ruffle or puff at the shoulder, and a slight bell-shape at the cuff, with full white undersleeves peeking out. At the hem are two puffed ruffles, separated by a few inches. There is either an apron or wide sash ends hanging down in front—it is hidden by the other gown, so it’s impossible to say which—the edges of which are trimmed with a narrow gathered ruffle.
Her hair is parted in the middle, and though the style is obscured, it appears that she has some curl or waves to her hair. She wears a modest bonnet that ties with a large satin bow under her chin; the wide ribbon falls all the way to her waist. She wears no jewelry that I can see, just pale buff-colored gloves.
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What do you think of this fashion plate? Are the styles too old-fashioned for 1860 or are they innovative enough for the new decade?
