Authentic Victorian Fashion Patterns

Imported custom-made clothes were usually beyond the financial reach of the average middle-class American woman of a century ago; and store-bought garments were often of inferior quality. This left many women with the options of making their own clothes or hiring a seamstress.
While a number of economy-minded women did sew simple housedresses, and clothing for their children, many took favorite fashion plates to a dressmaker who would often consult patterns in a magazine such as The Voice of Fashion. This book, compiled by costume authority Kristina Harris, painstakingly reprints a rich selection of scaled dressmakers' patterns of the 1890s, taken from rare issues of that popular, late-19th century dressmaker's journal. Featuring such fashion elements as leg-o'-mutton sleeves, high-collared necklines, long skirts, and pinched waistlines, the collection includes nearly 500 patterns and illustrations detailing 50 garments for women. Every wardrobe necessity for the Victorian lady is covered — from nightgowns and wrappers for boudoir and breakfast, a riding habit and tennis outfit, to walking dresses for town and visiting, elegant dinner dresses, and elaborate evening gowns.
An introduction and brief instruction for using the patterns are also included in a volume that will not only find practical use among costume designers and students of fashion history, but will also delight browsers, Victorian enthusiasts, and anyone intrigued by the evolution of clothing styles. 498 illustrations. pattern drafting;clothing construction;tailoring techniques;sewing patterns;victorian clothes;hand sewing;period correct;victorian clothing;models wearing;fashion plates;riding habit;costume design;sewing techniques;fashion history;period clothing;vintage clothes;fashion magazines;vintage photographs;color photos;butterick;gridded;modiste;apportioning;boned;costumer;proportionate;bustles;enlarging;dressmaking;inset;enlarge;dressmaker;1896;turn-of-the-century;1905;garments;sleeves;gowns;1890s;measurements;outfits;fashions;seamstress;scales;edwardian;collectors;costumes;rulers;coat;diagrams;dresses;books on fashion magazines;books on costume designs;books on period clothings;books on vintage photographs;books on fashion histories;books on 1890s;books on gowns;books on clothing constructions;books on coats;books on sewing patterns;books on measurements;books on scales;books on dressmakings;inseting;books on collectors;books on dressmakers;books on diagrams;books on sewing techniques;books on hand sewings;books on fashions;books on outfits;books on garments;books on buttericks;books on rulers;books on color photos;books on fashion plates;books on bustles;books on costumes;books on dresses;books on vintage clothes;books on sleeves;books on seamstresses