tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post9152603410977959138..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Update #3: Mysteries of the Elizabeth Bull Wedding GownUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-41477472096217924522013-02-14T17:45:05.689-05:002013-02-14T17:45:05.689-05:00There's no question this gown was altered, mos...There's no question this gown was altered, most likely twice. The skirt shows a silhouette fashionable about 1830, and the existing bodice uses fabric and styles from about 1890. <br /><br />The underskirt and unused bodice pieces also offer good clues about the original shape of the gown and its embroidery. But whether that work dates to 1735 or 1760, and whether the gown was worn at an important occasion before it was complete, still appear to be mysteries.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-72795740406913487402013-02-14T17:38:15.225-05:002013-02-14T17:38:15.225-05:00As the first commenter says, it was standard pract...As the first commenter says, it was standard practice to alter dresses according to the style of the day. Unlike us, women of the past would own very few dresses, and would reuse them over their lifetimes as much as possible. So a dress that got a lot of use shouldn't be expected to be 'authentic' to its original time period. Mark B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-86715520902356445802013-02-13T13:22:36.420-05:002013-02-13T13:22:36.420-05:00Being a seamstress and an embroiderer amongst a lo...Being a seamstress and an embroiderer amongst a long line of family seamstresses and historic costume designers, it is not uncommon for the embroidery to be done on plain cloth prior to the dress actually cut and sewn or fully fitted. It is also not uncommon for the dress to be simultaneously designed as the embroidery is underway. Works in progress, so to speak, would explain the cuts into the embroidered areas if indeed they are original to the dress. <br /><br />In addition, repeated patterns such as what appears on the dress, gets very monotonous over time. Like any project, sometimes the monotony brings it to an end, whether the person intended it in the beginning or not. Many of my family embroidered garments and household linens have changes in the pattern simply to break the monotony. In addition, while not apparent from a common eye, a close look at my grandmother’s works indicates where she just got tuckered out. Some of my mother’s historic theater costume designs were changed midstream to accommodate time constraints or fabric availability. <br /><br />Just as importantly, 18th and early 19th century garments were re-altered again and again because textiles were reused over and over again. It would have been common for her to have worn the dress for the wedding and re-altered the dress for other occasions or for a change in body type even before she passed it down to her descendants. There may also have been various adornments originally on the dress that were reused on other garments. <br /><br />So from my experience, study of garments and textile history, the garments current design, cuts and condition is consistent with the useage of the period. To determine the true era of the embroidered areas (presumably the areas of the original dress), one should be able to check the embroidery threads and dyes to see if they are consistent with the early 18th century. <br />Kmillman<br />Burnsville, MNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com