1880s Day and Evening Dress

The day and evening versions of my 1880s bustle dress. The bodice on day dress on the left is an exact copy of my c. 1880 bustle bodice. I took a pattern from my original. I was very lucky that the back fit me. I just needed to adjust the front a little. The evening bodice on the right is taken from the same pattern, only made with a square neckline and shorter sleeves. Like the original, the day bodice is made of cotton velvet (only in chocolate brown instead of the original black). The evening bodice, like the skirt is caramel silk lustring trimmed with chocolate brown velvet. I used the Truly Victorian 1880s underskirt and bustled apron overskirt for the skirt patterns.

More pictures of my day dress, taken in Decatur Square during Costume Con. Several people asked me questions about the dress, I was explaining a few details in these pictures :)

Three-hundred-sixty degree views of the dress. A very good view of my hairpiece, which is a very long braid pinned around a small bun of my own.

It was common to have more than one bodice for a dress, since fabric was expensive. That way you could get more use out of your skirt. Since I had a lot of extra fabric leftover from making the skirts, I decided to make a second bodice.

Back views of the evening bodice. You can see how narrow the back seams are, helping to give the illusion of a small waist.