Marissa’s new series on fabrics got me to thinking about how
a lady in the nineteenth century went about choosing her gowns. I will admit that a large percentage of my
closet was built from other people’s castoffs.
Goodwill, Value Village, Bargain World, and the local Methodist
Church rummage sale have decked me out in fine style for many years. In nineteenth century England and America, a
lady had several choices for finding the perfect outfit.
If she had enough money, she might hire a seamstress, taking
designs in her favorite ladies magazine to show the seamstress what was wanted
and picking out fabric and notions. If
the seamstress was sufficiently famous or the lady and seamstress had a
longstanding relationship, the lady might allow the seamstress free rein in
coming up with both design and fabric, and spend the requisite amount of time
being pinned and fitted so the gown was exactly what she wanted.
If a certain amount of economy was required, and the lady
was handy with a needle, she might instead make the gown herself, perhaps going
by patterns handed down from mother to daughter. If new material was too costly, she might
pick apart an older gown and repurpose the pieces. This exhibit from Carlyle House in Alexandria
shows how easily a heavy-skirted gown from the late eighteenth century might
have been made into the more narrow-skirted fashions of the early nineteenth
century.
Though “store-bought” clothing was still a ways away, a
thrifty lady might consider going to a second-hand shop to purchase a used
gown. We've talked before about how
ladies maids might sell their mistress’s castoffs for extra income. If she was certain she ran in different
circles from the lady in question, she could feel free to purchase a gown and
refurbish it as needed.
But I bet she didn't get as good a deal as the
five-dollar-a-bag sale at the local Methodist Church rummage sale.
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