For something a little different, I decided to try a yoked bodice, which was an incredibly popular style in the late 1870's. In April of 1879, Peterson's Magazine features a plaid yoked house dress and stated that "the deep waist is made plaited back and front into a yoke; a belt around the waist, with a bow of ribbon on one side." Most of these yoked bodices had high, round necklines or small standing collars, but I found one example of a yoked bodice with a middy collar on a teenaged girl, so I thought that the V-neck might help keep me cool while I also try a style that I haven't done before.

I used cotton velveteen for the collar, cuffs, and belt, and I edged it with natural linen rickrack, which really made these features stand out nicely. The buttons are vintage and slightly mismatched, which is a fun little detail that seemed appropriate for a prairie dress. I'm always amused when I see Victorian photos of women who have a mismatched button on their dress. It happens more often than you would think, and I love imagining a practical frontier woman just replacing a missing button with something "close enough" and not wasting any time worrying about it.
I also wore a silk bow at my neck, and a mourning rosette at my waist. The rosette was a lovely gift from 2 friends, and I made a faux tintype of my husband to use for the portrait. Similar mourning badges were quite popular after the death of Abraham Lincoln, and you can see a similar style here.
![]() |
![]() |
I only got a few posed pictures of my dress at Costume College, but I'm hoping to get some more fun ones in a pretty setting when I wear it again this winter. But if you'd like to see a few more, you can check out my Flickr album.
9 comments:
This is such a sweet outfit Jen. Every detail makes it look as if you stepped out of the prairie and into the present.
Xoxo, Cori
That was such a beautiful outfit. I loved the simplicity of it. I have a couple photos of you in it at CoCo. Just click Next to see the others besides this. http://www.pbase.com/cinnamonhrts/image/160976900
Val
Well done! Simple, elegant, and convincingly period all at once!
It was really lovely. The trim and fabric all complimented each other so well and I loved the hat. You looked beautiful and serene in it.
So many lovely details! You look beautiful.
Lovely outfit. Simple, yet so elegant. You look wonderful :)
Beautiful outfit! I Always loved the clothing descriptions in Wilder's books!
Omg, all three of you look so lovely. If the photo was not in colour I would think it is some really old original picture.
شركة الماسة لمكافحة الحشرات بالرياض
شركة تنظيف فلل بالجبيل
Post a Comment