The complete appearance of the 1860's lady was to be clean and confined.

The hairstyle of the period was very controlled; parted down the middle with no bangs.  The hair was pulled to the back in a braid (or braids) or into a bun.  This look was created to make the face appear round and plump.  Snoods were a fad for the young ladies and not often worn.  The hair would still be confined with the snood just over the hair.  Snoods in the 1860's either matched the dress with ornate silk or velvet ribbon.  Another form of snoods were ones that matched the color of the ladies hair or in fact were woven from their own hair to create a perfect match.

Civil War blouses were designed to make the waist seem small.  The dropped shoulder seam was to extend the shoulder line to appear broader, in reference the waist would seem more narrow.  The sleeves were full whether gathered as a Garibaldi or pagoda style.  The cuffs of the sleeves (or undersleeves for pagoda) were to make the hand appear small and plump.

Gloves were worn when out in town.  Mitts were still worn by older women although it was steadily moving out of fashion.

Collars were usually white muslin and no more than two inches wide.  The collar tucked in the neck of the dress or shirt, the main purpose was to protect the dress from dirt and wear.  Rarely were they crocheted or lace.  Collars served a more practical use rather than decorative.

Skirts had a definite pleat, and were rarely cartridge pleated.  Directional pleats were used more often with the pleats directed from back to front,  This drew the eye to the waistline.  Another style was the box pleat which has a more slimming effect.  Few women gathered their skirts, most were pleated in these styles.  The hem of the skirt should be no more than two inches off the ground and in most cases should be touching the ground when standing.  Only young teens were allowed to have shorter dresses.  With the shorter dresses for young teens, it would be required to have long pantaloons that reached to the top of the boot.  Ankles were not to be shown back then.

Boots should be a basic black or brown, with a low flat heel.  The sculpted higher heeled boots came years later in the Victorian era.  The boot should lace up or have the loops and buttons for closures.

Aprons were worn for work and also to be decorative.  The decorative would have been out of a light muslin, usually white.  They could be embroidered, have lace or ruffles.  The decorative aprons were much smaller than the work aprons and were often rounded.  The work aprons usually covered the front of the dress or 3/4 of the dress to protect it.  Work aprons were mostly out of a heavy muslin, some were wool but they were mostly for cooking over open fires.

Most skirts and blouses were of the same fabric and pattern.  When white shirts were worn, a female version of the vest called a waist was worn.  A waist resembles an outside corset. The famous picture of Clara Barton features a waist.  A zouave jacket could also be worn over a white shirt.  White shirts were not worn by themselves until the last few months of the war.  Berthas were not commonly worn during the war but when worn it was usually by older women and had the closures in the front.  Berthas had reached their height of popularity years before the war.

Belts usually matched the dress and were formed to the waist and hooked with a metal clasp or a clasp with the same material as the dress covering it.  The belts did not resemble today's belts with a buckle that is a pull through with notches.  Medici belts (swiss belts) were also in fashion with young teens.  The Medici is the belt that has points in the front and sometimes in the back also.

I do hope this helps you in your 1860's ladies impression.  Fredricka Zimmerman