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Williamsburg Rose

Victorian Fashions

The Dining Room of the La Porte house is less a formal style than would have been common in the period, and more of what we today would consider a "Keeping Room"

With its large size and warm wood decor, it houses a large table, homey fireplace and a number of cabinets and furniture pieces meant for family use.

Here, we show two formally dressed ladies from the1840-50 era, gowned for a festive evening.

 

MAUVE SATIN BALLGOWN
1840's

Evening dress of the 1840's resembled day dress of the period, with one important difference - the sleeves were much shorter and the neckline was always low, "far too much so for strict delicacy to approve" warned one lady's magazine.
With so small a bodice and so large an expanse of skirt, decoration and trim had to be ingenious. This ensemble of plum moire and mauve satin, has an off-the-shoulder bodice, and is edged with a wide collar of mauve satin ornamented with silk lilac sprays in front and back.
Rows of white lace cover the short ballgown sleeves and compliment the ensemble perfectly. Skirts could be plain, in tiers, or concoctions of puffs and layers. This unusual decoration on the skirt, imitating falling panels edged with lace, is taken from a period ballgown fashion plate.
A black lace shawl and matching floral headdress complete the outfit.

AQUA and WHITE
TAFFETA & TULLE BALLGOWN c.1853

During the early Victorian period, the fashion for V-shaped trim was found just as flattering in evening gowns as it was in the high necked day dresses of the period.
A combination of lace, gold metallic yarn, and pearls cascade down the V of this ballgown bodice. The style is known as '`à la greque', in which the fabric of the bodice front is arranged in a pleated design, with a suggestion of classical drapery. The material is white silk taffeta, with an inset band of aqua taffeta outlining the fold. As was frequently done during the period, the ballgown is made as 3 seperate pieces: bodice, overskirt, and underskirt.
The overskirt is done in an aqua, gold and white striped taffeta and is 3/4 length, layered over and cut to reveal the trimmed underskirt. The frothy underskirt is formed of tiers of poufed tulle over taffeta, and caught at intervals with broad loops of gold and white striped taffeta.

Full Length showing faux lace skirt panels,
black lace shawl and painted silk fan