Late 19th century printed cotton petticoat skirt with pleated flounce
Dating from the very last decade of the 19th century, this petticoat skirt has been homemade out of a printed cotton in pale café-au-laît bands with geometric black shapes on a white background. It is a classic fishtail shape, made to accommodate a bustle at the back, and so the back hangs slightly longer than the front. The pleated border has been added over the top, giving the hem a weight and volume that makes the skirt move beautifully - this was done to help the overskirt stand out. It fastens at the back with large press-studs and two large hook and eyes. These are all secure but as you can see they have rusted a little and marked the fabric. This was obviously a precious garment to someone - it has a couple of not-very-expert repairs which are a little crude but are also not very visible in the pattern - they are at the bottom of the skirt and would have been due to the skirt catching on things. The fabric does have a few small pinholes in it as well, and also some pale marks, but again these are not visible amongst the patterning and draping. This remains a very wearable and super elegant garment, perfect for summer despite being the underwear of almost 140 years ago!
It measures 37cm lying flat at the waist - so 74cm right around the waist - there is not much room for manouvre in this so your true waist measurement does need to be on or below that size. It is 104cm long at the back - the longest part of the skirt.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
Dating from the very last decade of the 19th century, this petticoat skirt has been homemade out of a printed cotton in pale café-au-laît bands with geometric black shapes on a white background. It is a classic fishtail shape, made to accommodate a bustle at the back, and so the back hangs slightly longer than the front. The pleated border has been added over the top, giving the hem a weight and volume that makes the skirt move beautifully - this was done to help the overskirt stand out. It fastens at the back with large press-studs and two large hook and eyes. These are all secure but as you can see they have rusted a little and marked the fabric. This was obviously a precious garment to someone - it has a couple of not-very-expert repairs which are a little crude but are also not very visible in the pattern - they are at the bottom of the skirt and would have been due to the skirt catching on things. The fabric does have a few small pinholes in it as well, and also some pale marks, but again these are not visible amongst the patterning and draping. This remains a very wearable and super elegant garment, perfect for summer despite being the underwear of almost 140 years ago!
It measures 37cm lying flat at the waist - so 74cm right around the waist - there is not much room for manouvre in this so your true waist measurement does need to be on or below that size. It is 104cm long at the back - the longest part of the skirt.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
Dating from the very last decade of the 19th century, this petticoat skirt has been homemade out of a printed cotton in pale café-au-laît bands with geometric black shapes on a white background. It is a classic fishtail shape, made to accommodate a bustle at the back, and so the back hangs slightly longer than the front. The pleated border has been added over the top, giving the hem a weight and volume that makes the skirt move beautifully - this was done to help the overskirt stand out. It fastens at the back with large press-studs and two large hook and eyes. These are all secure but as you can see they have rusted a little and marked the fabric. This was obviously a precious garment to someone - it has a couple of not-very-expert repairs which are a little crude but are also not very visible in the pattern - they are at the bottom of the skirt and would have been due to the skirt catching on things. The fabric does have a few small pinholes in it as well, and also some pale marks, but again these are not visible amongst the patterning and draping. This remains a very wearable and super elegant garment, perfect for summer despite being the underwear of almost 140 years ago!
It measures 37cm lying flat at the waist - so 74cm right around the waist - there is not much room for manouvre in this so your true waist measurement does need to be on or below that size. It is 104cm long at the back - the longest part of the skirt.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.