Historical Fancy Dress

Category: 1880s

  • Gleaner

    FD-Holt-1887-Gleaner (Here are several options for people who like the red-gold-brown color family and happen to have a sickle handy.  While one description remains constant over sixteen years and three editions of the same manual, in 1887 three other descriptions appear, one of which, Rachel the Gleaner, remains in 1896 as well.)

    1880:
    Short yellow skirt, red tunic, black velvet low bodice, laced across the front, cut in tabs round; short sleeves and low chemisette; hat with flowers, sometimes a coloured handkerchief wound about the head, or an evening dress of maize and brown tulle, all trimmed and embroidered with wheat, corn-flowers, and poppies; a sickle at the side.

    1887:
    Short yellow skirt; red tunic; black velvet low bodice, laced across the front, cut in tabs at waist; short sleeves and low chemisette; hat with flowers, sometimes a coloured handkerchief wound about the head.  Or, an evening dress of maie and brown tulle, all trimmed or embroidered with wheat, cornflowers, and poppies; a sickle at the side; wheat-sheaf and wreath.  Or, amber satin skirt, red over-skirt and bodice, with large muslin kerchief; hat enriched by wreath of grain and poppies; sickle at one side.  Rachel the Gleaner: orange-coloured handkerchief loosely thrown over the hair and tied in front; grey bodice with cream fichu, quite plain and unfrilled; over-skirt grey with wheat ears in the lap; orange-couloured petticoat; grey stockings or tanned shoes; sickle in hand, and bunch of corn poppies and juettes.

    1896:
    Short yellow skirt; red tunic; black velvet low bodice, laced across the front, cut in tabs at waist; short sleeves and low chemisette; hat with flowers, sometimes a coloured handkerchief wound about the head.  Rachel the Gleaner: orange-coloured handkerchief loosely thrown over the hair and tied in front; grey bodice with cream fichu, quite plain and unfrilled; over-skirt grey with wheat ears in the lap; orange-couloured petticoat; grey stockings or tanned shoes; sickle in hand, and bunch of corn poppies and juettes.

    Rachel the Gleaner is depicted in the illustration above left (click to enlarge), and appears to have been a popular costume choice.  From lists given in various newspapers, it was worn by a Miss Gray at a fancy dress ball given in British Columbia in 1885 by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Dunsmuir, by a Miss F. Keasbery at a ball in Singapore in 1884, and by a Miss A. Welch at a New Zealand ball in 1885. The way "the Gleaner" is used as a title makes me suspect that Rachel was a character in a novel, opera, or play popular in the early 1880s.  Her skirt appears to be slightly bustled in back.

    Sources:
    Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 2nd Edition, Illustrated.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1880.
    Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
    Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, Sixth Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1896.

    The 1896 edition of Holt may be found online at the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

  • Moonlight and more

    (My favorite line in this lengthy list of moon-inspired costume ideas is "to make it more peculiar, a bat could be fixed on the left shoulder.")

    MOONLIGHT, MOONSHINE, MOON, LUNA, CLAIRE DE LUNE.  A silver-spangled tulle evening dress, over white satin; a mantle of the same, bordered with silver lace, attached to the shoulders of the low bodice; a white and silver scarf twisted round the head, fastened either with diamonds or with silver crescents, which must be introduced on the shoulders, front of the bodice, and skirt; white satin shoes with crescents; silver ornaments.  Dark grey and silver is another pretty combination for the character.  Moonshine, all of black tulle, with a basque bodice of silver brocade; the tunic edged with a most delicate fringe of crimped silver, looped at one side with one large star; the head-dress, a close-fitting turban cap of silver brocade, with a narrow fringe of crimped silver; black long gloves, with bands of silver tissue or brocade, about an inch wide, at equal distances; black fan with silver sticks.  This costume could be called Night, if preferred, and to make it more peculiar, a bat could be fixed on the left shoulder.  Another costume for Moon is a dress of soft white silk, trimmed and bordered with brown velvet cut in vandykes, three-quarter moons in gold cloth or yellow silk appliquéd on the velvet; plastron placed on low bodice, the same on short sleeves; blue scarf round waist, edged with gold; gold and silver-spangled tulle round neck; small silver-spangled cap with a bunch of arrows, surmounted by crescent, on one side.  Or, a dressed trimmed with moonlight tints on grey and silver; an electric star in hair is a novel feature.  A blue gauze dress, or sometimes green, may be worn.

    Source:
    Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.

  • A Fancy Dress Ball, Singapore, 1884

    Newspapers of the era often published lists of the costumes worn by guests at fancy dress balls.  The lists were typically provided in advance, so it's possible not all of the costumes worked out, as anyone who's ever tried to finish a costume at the last minute before a ball will understand.

    The lists below are from a fancy dress ball held by British expatriates in Singapore and are taken from an article on the ball published in the Singapore newspaper Strait Times Weekly on February 23, 1884.

    From the description of the ball itself:

    On Thursday evening, the Fancy Dress Ball, which for some time past had been looked forward to, took place at the Town Hall.  The upper room is well known to all visitors as being one of the handsomest in the Far East.  On the present occasion it was simply and tastefully decorated, in a manner which was well adapted to enhance the architectural features of the building.  The result was such as might have been expected from the interest evinced by the fairer portion of the community, and the skill and attention they bestowed upon their costumes, which contributed so materially to the success of the entertainment.  One could not fail to notice, among the many handsome dresses, that there were several in the disposal and arrangement of which the fair owners displayed an intimate and correct knowledge of true artistic and aesthetic principles.  The style of the costumes was exceedingly diversified, some being of a purely classic type and thus pertaining to the tragic, while there were some which were the representatives of comedy, and others again which successively adopted comic character.

    The general effeect [sic] of the intermingling of thse many and varied styles and colors, whether seen in the Hall itself or viewed from the gallery above, furnished a spectacle not only charming to the eye, but one which those who witnessed it, will not readily forget…

    …Dancing commenced shortly after nine with an opening quadrille which extended the entire length of hte Hall.  The floor was in excellent condition, and the music was performed by the Regimental Band of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.  It is no wonder that these and other attractions rendered the visitors loth [sic] to part, and prolonged the dancing after supper far into the small hours.  At what precise time the company would have separated it is difficult to determine, as dancing only stopped upon the Band playing the National Anthem.

    The entire article may be found online at the website of the National Library of Singapore.

    In looking through the lists of costumes, some trends are obvious: historical costumes of the previous few centuries, characters from plays, and national/ethnic costumes of various kinds.  Classic fancy dress costumes such as Harlequin and Folly are also represented.  More unusual examples are the gentlemen attending as "Bat" and "Paint Box" and the lady depicting "Economy."  There are also a few cop-outs: "Civil Service Uniform" and "Evening dress, 19th century" suggest that not all the attendees made any special effort at costuming.

    While some couples may have coordinated costumes — the Cavalier and the Lady of the 17th century appear to be husband and wife — it is actually more common for the costumes not to match: Ralph Rackstraw wth Follie, Peasant of the Black Forest with Persian Lady, and so forth.  The substantial disparity in numbers between ladies and gentleman probably reflects the nature of society in a distant colonial posting of that era.

    Here are the lists of costumes, reformatted to separate the ladies' and gentlemen's costumes and with the names of the wearers omitted to save space:

    (more…)

  • Portuguese Officer of the 16th Century

    McCord-Portuguese  (Yes, men really did wear tights to fancy dress balls!  Here's a Canadian gentleman in Tudor-era costume, complete with tights and tall boots.  Click the image for a larger version.)

    Left: Edward Waldo, as "Portuguese Officer of the 16th Century", Montréal, QC, 1881 by Notman & Sandham.  Image © McCord Museum.

    The photograph is part of an online exhibition of photographs of fancy dress costumes from balls and skating parties; the museum's description of it states, in part:

    "Mr. Waldo wore this costume to several different balls and carnivals in the 1880s, in both Ottawa and Montreal. Like women, men in fancy dress, enjoyed flouting everyday conventions. Under no other circumstances would Victorian men ever expose this much of their legs. Journalists chronicled a great deal of anxiety among men over the adequacy of their legs and the decision to expose their calves or thighs."

    "This photograph was probably taken in the Notman studio in Montreal, where Mr. Waldo attended Mrs. D. Lorn Macdougall's ball and a skating carnival two weeks later"

    "Mr. Waldo wore this costume at least three times in 1881, when this photograph was taken, and again in 1889. He had it remade for another ball in 1896."

  • Mermaid

    (Perhaps in the interests of having something one can actually dance — and walk — in, this description of a mermaid costume blithely ignores the fish-tail aspect!)

    Dress with low bodice of eau de Nile silk, covered with drapery of sea green tulle, with a profusion of white corals, shells, marine grass, flowers, and crystallised foam; the left shoulder of the dress ornamented with a cluster of diamonds; the right shoulder and ceinture with silvery iridescent gems; flowing hair crowned with corals, pearls, and diamonds; interspersed with pendants of seagrass.

    Source:
    Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.

  • A Victorian Fancy Dress Ball, New Haven, Connecticut (Saturday, April 2, 2011)

    Enjoying the descriptions and illustrations of fancy dress costumes posted here?  Now's your chance to try it for yourself!

    On Saturday, April 2nd, in New Haven, Connecticut, there will be a fancy dress ball in the style of the 1880s, featuring live music, Victorian dancing, refreshments made from historical recipes, and a chance to bring fancy dress costumes to life!

    The ball will be held from 8:00 to 11:30pm at beautiful Pratt Hall, less than a block from the New Haven Green and only a few blocks from the historic Yale University campus.  The dancing will be precepted by dance historian and teacher Susan de Guardiola (author of the Capering & KIckery dance history blog and owner of Historical Fancy Dress) with live music by the noted dance trio Spare Parts, heard recently on the soundtrack of the film Bright Star.  The dances will be a typical Victorian mix of couple dances (waltz, polka, schottische, galop) and set dances (contras, quadrilles).  All set dances will be taught during the evening, and there will be a workshop from 3:00 to 5:00pm the afternoon of the ball to help people wanting to learn the couple dances.

    Obviously, fancy dress based on the styles of the 1880s is strongly encouraged, and this blog is intended as a resource for costume ideas.  The evening will include a procession of costumes.  Since this is a fancy dress ball rather than a masquerade, masks are not necessary.  To preserve the beautiful floor, please make sure to have clean dance shoes or indoor-only shoes to change into at the hall so as not to track dirt or grit into the ballroom.

    The ball is strictly limited to 80 people due to the size of the hall.  Advance registration ($25 per person, or $18 for ages 13-21) is recommended.  At-the-door prices are $10 higher and admission will be available only if space permits.  Younger children may attend with their parents, and are expected to be strictly supervised throughout and withdrawn from the ballroom if they become too tired/fussy to display polite behavior.

    A flyer with registration information may be downloaded here.  A website will be up shortly.

  • Columbine

    (Another cute flower costume, this time for a young girl, though there's no special reason an adult woman could not do something similar.)

    Pink silk stockings, white satin shoes, tulle skirt, short and full; cuirass bodice bordered with flowers; wreath of flowers in hand.

    Source: Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.

  • Snow, Snowstorm, Snow Queen

    (A costume suited to the season or for anyone with an excess of swansdown at hand.  White maribou would make a workable substitute.)

    Snow, Snowstorm.
    A princesse dress of soft white foulard, made high to the throat, or with a square-cut bodice, back and front, and very short sleeves; a drapery of Indian muslin put on just below the hips, covered with detached pieces of frosted swansdown, caught back at both sides with a long broad piece of swansdown, long glass icicles; the bodice and short sleeves trimmed to match, and a wreath of frosted swansdown, with icicles; a veil, fastened either to the wreath or to the shoulders, of frosted gauze, dotted all over with swansdown; very long gloves, trimmed to match, and shoes covered with swansdown; necklace of frosted swansdown and icicles, and from underneath a few drooping snowdrops peeping out; hair down; the fan entirely of swansdown, with an edging of drooping icicles; if the swansdown is just touched with gum, and some "frosting" powder sprinkled on, the effect is very sparkling.

    Snow Queen.
    Same, with crown of icicles.

    Source:  Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.

  • Pansy

    FD-Holt-1887-Pansy (Here's a specific example of a flower costume, with three different variations, the first of which is illustrated at left.)

    Short white dress trimmed with deep rich-coloured violet pansies, one large one forming the head-dress the petals standing well round the head, like a brim; the bodice made of dark petunia velvet, arranged to simulate the flower, the soft peach crêpe de chine draped with pansies; a fan in the shape of a pansy.

    Or, dress of amber-coloured soft silk, trimmed with purple bands, outlined with gold; loops of purple and amber-coloured ribbons on the top of the sleeves; head-dress in the shape of the flower; white bibbed apron, embroidered in purple; a gold basket of hearts-ease carried.

    Or, dress of violet tulle and satin with profuse trimmings of the flower; wreath and shoes to correspond.

     

    Source: Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.

  • On personating flowers

    (Some advice on the popular — and very easy to assemble — flower costumes.  Descriptions of flower costumes actually worn at an event may be found in the coverage of an 1890s "plant party."  The descriptions given from both editions of this source are quite similar.)

    A fashionable evening dress trimmed with any flower, and called after it, is the easiest kind of fancy costume; a tulle veil with a  wreath is often worn with this, and China floral ornaments, a basket of the flowers carried in the hand.  Sometimes the flower is imitated; as for example: Blue Belle, blue shoes, stockings, and short skirt cut in vandykes, yellow bodice, cap like an inverted bell with green stalk.  Sometimes the dress is the colour of the flower, a violet evening dress made up with silver gauze and green leaves for a Violet, or the dress is embroidered with wild flowers, wall flowers, apple-blossom, ivy, fern, snowdrop, La Marguerite, heartsease, forget-me-nots, buttercups, or any flower personated.  Fleur d'été and oracles des champs can be rendered after these fashions, or if more of a fancy costume is desired, the lower part of skirt is gathered in diamonds, and outlined with silver or gold braid, or leaves and flowers; the bodice made à la Louis XV., and trimmed with gold or silver; an apron with bib, and a coquettish hat at one side of the head entwined with the particular flower.

    Sources: Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 2nd Edition, Illustrated.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1880.

    A fashionable evening dress trimmed with any flower, and called after it, is the easiest kind of fancy costume; a tulle veil with a  wreath is often worn with this, and china floral ornaments; a basket of the flowers carried in the hand.  Sometimes the flower is imitated; as for example: Blue Belle, blue shoes, stockings, and short skirt cut in vandykes, yellow bodice, cap like an inverted bell with green stalk.  Sometimes the dress is the colour of the flower, viz., a violet evening gown made up with silver gauze and green leaves for a Violet.  Forget-me-not, blue satin dress, border of flowers, muslin fichu and cap, apron trimmed to match, blue hose, shoes, and mittens; or the dress is embroidered with wild flowers, wallflowers, apple-blossom, ivy, fern, snowdrop, la marguerite, heartsease, forget-me-nots, buttercups, or any flower personated.  Fleur d'été, Fleur des Champs, and Oracle des Champs, can be rendered after these fashions; or if more of a fancy costume is desired, the lower part of skirt is gathered in diamonds, and outlined with silver or gold braid, or leaves and flowers; the bodice made à la Louis XV., and trimmed with gold or silver; an apron with bib, and a coquettish hat at one side of the head entwined with the particular flower.

    Source: Holt, Ardern.  Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition.  London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.