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  • Girl's Dress and Jacket, about 1870

    A nice special occasion dress, worn with a blousewaist. The use of magenta and black together suggests a circa 1870 fabric - a popular aniline dye combination at the time. Also, the zouave-style jacket was popular in 1860s. The red and black silk "shag" trim on the jacket is interesting but is not a great match for rest of the piece. Overall, this girl's outfit has the feel of the bustle and puff style popular in women's dresses of the 1870s.

  • Red Wool Twill Child's Dress, 1860-1870

    Gored child's frock of red wool twill with black wool braid around neck, sleeves, hem. Round neck with self-piping and white eyelet machine lace; lace repeated on two-piece bishop sleeves. Three gores in front, four in back. Center-back closure has nine buttons (one decorative). Upper half lined with white unglazed cotton; lower half with glazed linen; linings sewn together. Band of white muslin at hem edge. All fabric bias-cut; hand-stitched; seam edges bound closed; magenta thread used. This i…

  • Girl's Plaid cotton Smock or Apron, 1870-1890

    Blue and white plaid cotton smock/apron. Simple one-piece construction with very large armholes and sleeves to fit over other clothing. Broad, rounded, Buster Brown-style collar. Three-button closure at upper back and buttoned self-fabric half-belt across lower back; back otherwise open. Sleeves and upper back gathered at yoke. Many stained and bleached areas on front. Machine stitched. According to the source of purchase, this young girl's smock belonged to the Linsley Simpson family of Northfo…

  • Girl's Dress, 1870-1880

    This dress is notable as a homemade attempt at fashion: the colors are typical of the period, but the styling a bit naive. The piecing of the lining material is quite resourceful. The length indicates that it would have been used by a girl.

  • Girl's Dress, about 1870

    This type of dress was very popular for railroad travel after the Civil War, and was probably worn in the summertime. One wonders if it functioned as a duster; however, it appears to be fairly close-fitting.