Resources for ladies’ Civil War-era dress
Note: this page contains references primarily for ladies’ evening attire, but any day or evening attire of the 1860s is perfectly acceptable for our ball!
Online resources
- Ladies’ evening dress of the 1850s and 1860s: a brief overview on the elements of a period ensemble
- Illustrations of ladies’ evening dress of the 1850s and 1860s
- Indexed fashion plates from Godey’s and Peterson’s magazines, 1859-1861
- Finishing touches: illustrations and descriptions of ladies’ hairstyles and headdresses from the 1850s and 1860s
- Dressmaking hints: a Civil War ensemble
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Well-researched sewing patterns
(many different patterns for gowns and undergarments, including corsets and hoop skirts)
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Reference collections of period fashion plates
- LADIES’ FASHIONS OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA: Day Dress from Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1860-1864
126 pages of black and white illustrations of dresses for all seasons of the year and many activities with original descriptions of styles, including: day-wear & dinner-dress; morning & négligé wear; visiting & out-door dress; travelling & seaside wear; riding fashions; chemises, shirts, & waists; jackets, Zouaves, & Garibaldis; girdles, chemisettes, & spencers; casaques, pardessus, & sacques; and sleeves
$25 + postage, from Vintage Victorian - LADIES’ EVENING DRESS OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA
97 pages with more than 100 black and white illustrations and original period descriptions including colors, fabrics, and styles of evening, ball and dinner dresses; fichus, berthes & fashion accessories; hairstyles & headdresses; and eight garment cutting diagrams,
$25 + postage, from Vintage Victorian - HAIRSTYLES AND HEADDRESSES OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA
59 pages with more than 150 black and white illustrations with original period descriptions of styles and construction of hairstyles & headdresses, diadems & combs, caps & coiffures
$15 + postage, from Vintage Victorian
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Complete gowns and outfits
- Civil War Lady (Joy Melcher) (travels to many reenactment events)
- Vintage Victorian (Katy Bishop) (Boston area)