1850's Day Dress
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
1850 day dress
This is one of two dresses for my Ladies Weekend event in Columbia, TN in May.
I am thrilled to be attending the 1850’s Ladies Weekend this summer at the Athenaeum Rectory in Columbia TN. The Rectory is an antebellum home that has been teaching southern belles since 1852.
According to the website ladies “dressed in authentic 19th century costumes, and study the same courses in etiquette, penmanship, art, music, dance, and the social graces. In addition, they participate in side-saddle horsemanship, archery and other sports.” How cool! I love that people are trying to keep Tennessee traditions, southern hospitality and etiquette alive!
Since I have to have an authentic dress for these classes I am creating two gowns for the weekend. One gown, a simple civil war era day dress for the outside/horseback riding activities and the other, a ball gown from Gone With The Wind, for the indoor classes. The day dress is Simplicity Pattern # 4400 in a hand-woven cotton checked fabric from Walmart at $1 per yard. The 6-hoop underskirt is from a bridal dealer on e-bay is is 160 inches in circumference.
The bonnet is also finished, thanks to Mom who arranged the flowers and did the hand stitching. The shade-less lamp works great as a hat stand.
