Ladies, it has come to my attention by Gentlemen in high ranking and standing in our re-enacting community that some ladies have been indiscreet in their clothing.  Ladies you MUST wear white undergarments when wearing a white or see-through blouse!  It is painfully obvious and incredibly incorrect to wear bright colored brassieres under white or see-through blouses.  Also if the blouse (no matter what the color) is a bit see-through, you need to wear a chemise or camisole, with or without a corset.  Even though most spectators are not well versed in authentic clothing, they can tell that something that obvious is incorrect.

There are also a few people who have noticed ladies wearing nothing under white shirts.  Ladies, let's use some common sense out there, this is a family hobby not a walking advertisement.

Another indiscretion pointed out is women without petticoats or pantaloons.  When your skirts are lifted to step over something or any other action, we should not be able to see your bare legs, no matter what age you are.

I understand that many of you who are new to the hobby are still putting your wardrobe together.  Many sutlery's sell pantaloons for $25-35 and they are quite easy to make  if you are able to sew.  Or until you can get the petticoats and pantaloons, a long cotton slip to cover your legs will do.  Let's keep things proper and clean out there and not advertise our wares for everyone and their brother to see.

Blouses

The only part of the 1860's ensemble that formed to the figure was the bodice of the blouse.  Therefore the style of bodices play a significant role in the 1860's period impression.  Bodices of the Civil War were three basic styles.  The first style is a loosely gathered bodice like that of the Garibaldi.  This bodice was used by women for its comfort and ability to move more freely.  The second bodice was the least common in the 1860's, it is a pleated bodice.  It was pleated in a fashion that it made the appearance of a fan radiating upward from the waist to the shoulders.  The third style is the fitted bodice.  The fitted bodice is the most flattering style.  This bodice can have two points in the front.  These points would be on both sides of the button line.  The points would be approximately 3 inches apart.  I have seen variations with the points closer or further apart.  The fitted bodice's most common waist treatment was straight across at the natural waistline.  The fitted bodice had two darts on both sides in the front, almost directly below the breasts, and the two half circles in the back.  The half circles would usually come within an inch of each other although patterns now days make the gap a bit further apart.  The fitted bodice was also the most popular; contradicting the fact that most believe that the Garibaldi was the most popular of this time period.

There were also three basic styles of sleeves.  The first of which is the coat sleeve.  The coat sleeve is two pieces with usually no cuffs.  It is a more fitted look and was the most widely used style.  The second style is the pagoda sleeve;  which is an open ended sleeve with no cuff.  The pagoda sleeve can also have a formed slit or a straight slit for the under sleeve to show rather than just straight across all the time.  The third style is the bloused gathered sleeve, that of which appears on the Garibaldi.  This sleeve will always have a cuff.

Since there were really no patterns to readily buy the variations on these styles; both bodices and sleeves, are existent but slight.  Usually the difference appears in the fullness of the sleeves or in the slight variations on the sleeve styles.  The fitted bodice can use all three sleeve styles.  The pleated bodice had the coat sleeve or the gathered sleeve.  The gathered blouse (Garibaldi) had only the bloused gathered sleeve.

Trim for the blouses can be braiding, small fringe (mostly above the elbow on the sleeve and would appear near the bottom of the skirt to tie the outfit together), tucking, ruching, cording, pleating, ruffles, and ribbon either criss-crossed or in straight lines.  As you can see, there are many ways to dress up your blouse and skirt.  A misconception is that all blouses need the cording around the sleeves seams and in the back.  Out of 295 Authentic photographs that I have studied, only 15 had confirmed cording.

For the most part, blouses were of the same material as the skirt.  If blouses and skirts were not of the same material;  the skirt would always be the print and the shirt the solid color.  I have seen only one case where a lady had a print skirt and a striped shirt.  It wasn't until the last part of the war that white blouses were being worn without a jacket, such as the zouave, or a waist with it.

On examination of several period photographs, the average amount of buttons used on the front of the bodice was eight.  They appear to be 1/2 or 5/8 inches in diameter.  The exception is a few photographs which have many smaller buttons anywhere for 8-16 on the front closure.

Removable cuffs, under sleeves, and collars; mostly in white linen or muslin, were a must back in the 1860's.  The three types of collars were a scalloped, or rounded to the neck line, or a small stand up collar on the inside of the blouse's collar.  The collars would also have a small width of material tucked in the inside of the blouse's collar to protect against perspiration and dirt.  The majority of collars were no more than two inches in width.  Wide collars had gone out of fashion by the 1860's including the frilly lace collars.  The look that was adopted was a more tailored and clean look.  The cuffs were usually 2-3 inches in width and went over the outside of the sleeve cuff.  Under sleeves could be plain and fitted or full and trimmed with lace for the pagoda sleeves.  These removable or detachable accents created less need for scrubbing on the areas that would collect the most dirt on the dresses. Under sleeves were worn with ALL sleeve styles not just the pagoda.  This was to catch perspiration similar to the use of dress shields today, we use them to prevent staining or discoloration of the material.

Rarities

Short sleeves appear mostly in children's clothing but also appear in some womens.  These women were workers and their dresses were usually out of calico.  The short sleeve would be like a small round puff with the ending between the shoulder and elbow.

Extremely low necklines didn't even appear on ball gowns.  Cleavage was not shown by proper ladies.  Rarely were dresses made with a lower neckline than that of a bodice with no collar.  In most cases it was mainly girls under the age of 15.  Unless you were a young girl, an actress, or a woman of the night the neckline for a day dress would be at the nape of the neck, NO LOWER.

No matter which of the styles of bodices or sleeves you choose, it will be a correct impression of the 1860's lady.  Decorate as plainly or as lavishly as you want.  If by chance you don't sew and you buy your dresses, you can still put a personal touch by the decorations of the blouse and skirt.

  Fredricka
  fredrickaz@earthlink.net