1820s - Tumblr Posts
I’ve been very busy this month. Click on the pictures for full resolution.
I got the socks from American Duchess and my cravat is a rayon fabric I made into a cravat. Rayon is a really great substitute when silk is often too expensive, it also wrinkles less.
I got the socks from American Duchess and my cravat is a rayon fabric I made into a cravat. Rayon is a really great substitute when silk is often too expensive, it also wrinkles less.
New outfit I started making in December! I’m super happy with how each piece came out since I’ve gotten a lot faster at hand sewing, thus significantly more of my garments are done by hand. I would like to do more in depth posts on each garment soon, but for now I’ll add the general info.
The shirt was a nice cotton that was gifted to me. The buttonholes a stud eyelets were done by hand as well as many other elements.
The vest is a linen and cotton blend I got from Fabric mart. The print is called Strawberry Thief. The buttonholes were done by hand, as well as the topstitching along the edge.
The stud set is from the 1930s.
The pantaloons are probably the piece I’m most proud of that I’ve made so far. They’re a wool that my mom had in her stash. The knots were done by hand through a process of ironing, basting, and sewing on. I used Burnley & Trowbridge’s wool braid/tape. I was extremely proud of how they came out and the wool tape pressed beautifully.
The cape is wool with a cotton velveteen lining. I used one of my old graduation cords as the roping. The tassels hang down the front but you can’t see it in the pictures.
Plus new cravat! Also From Burnley and Trowbridge. I starched my cravat, my shirt front, my vest, and my corset.
I have to add the other vest from here.
"mister lafayette did you see my waistcoat i love you sir please respond" - Part 1
I just recently had a little chat with @acrossthewavesoftime about some of the historical merchandise of La Fayette that circulated – especially during the time of his Triumphant Tour in America 1824/25. Since the anniversary of said Tour is right around the corner (well, relatively speaking) I thought we have a look at some of the “best sellers” of the day for everybody who wants to celebrate in style.
I have to say that this is a very, very shallow summary of all the different items that were created and sold back then. The golden rule is, if La Fayette’s face or name or anything at all related to him could be put on a certain item, it was done. No matters how absurd and out there the item was, there was a very eager market for everything even remotely La Fayette related.
Gloves
There were in fact so many ladies wearing such gloves, that La Fayette had to made it a rule not to kiss the hand of a lady wearing such a glove because otherwise he would have kissed his own image.
Lady’s glove with a portrait of Lafayette, The United States, 1825, PL.013487, held by the National Museum of American History, Behring Center (04/24/2022).
Lafayette souvenir glove, removed from Anna Cabot Lodge scrapbook, 1810-1911, Vol. 22 of Henry Cabot Lodge papers, held by the Massachusetts Historical Society (04/24/2022).
Gloves, 1824, held by the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 1921 (04/24/2022).
Waist Coats and other garments (and baby shoes)
... and as you can see by the stains, these things were worn. Some people really went around with La Fayette’s face all other their garments. I have also come across soft leather shoes for babies and/or toddlers with a print of La Fayette’s face on the tip of the shoe. I sadly have no pictures of said shoes (but I am searching for them with great dedication because they were really, really cute.)
Vest, 2013.0283.001, held by the National Museum of American History, Behring Center (04/24/2022).
Kerchief worn by Sara Seabury on August 17, 1824, 1924.25, held by the New-York historical Society (04/24/2022).
Platters and table ware
Some of these objects especially were just exceptionally ugly. Ugly and creepy.
Platter by Asa E. Smith, 1824, 1937.714, held by the New-York Historical Society (04/24/2022).
Lafayette, The Nation's Guest pitcher, 1961.303, held by the New-York historical Society (04/24/2022).
Plate: Welcome Lafayette, 1824, 1952.135, held by the New-York Historical Society (04/24/2022).
Bread tins
Sadly, I have no picture of this particular curiosity. I saw some of them a few years ago during an auction but forgot to take pictures and I could not find it again. Anyway, these were ordinary bread tins with the exaptation that the letters LAFAYETTE were indented into the bottom of the tin so that they in turn would press his name into the finished bread.
Beside that there were all sorts of prints, poems and piece of music created in his name. There were commemorative coins and medals, statures and paintings and a fair number of towns and cities renamed them Fayetteville, La Grange and what not.
On a more personal note, a friend of mine actually gifted me a shower curtain with a portrait of La Fayette she found online – the only problem: the curtain was printed on both sides. In other words, no matter what I tried, La Fayette is starring at you whilst you shower and he does not even have the decency to blush - needless to say the curtain made showering a very quick affair while it was up.
The headline is a tag that @clove-pinks used recently under another post and that absolutely made my day when I read it.
As to why they’re stuck in their vests, quizzing glasses swing out a lot and thump on your chest when walking on a long ribbon, it can be a bit disruptive as well as possibly scratching the glass if you have metal buttons. It’s convenient to stick it in the vest between buttons (unbuttoning and re-buttoning).
Paul Gavarni — Fashionables of 1832
In the meantime of working on a big project, here's my cossack #2, which I'm very happy with. I used an original pattern as a base and then added extra fabric for pleats instead of gathers. The fabric is a wool-rayon blend from Fabricmart. With this outfit, I'm very happy with the fact it's essentially the first outfit I made but with much better practice and fit.
Preview for what I'm currently working on.
Portrait de Jacques-Louis Leblanc, 1823, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
previous results
submitted by @asterroth 🤍🩵
18th 19th century german noble’s dress but it’s Hatsune Miku
Portrait of Juliette Récamier (1827) by François-Louis Dejuinne. Musée du Louvre.
Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, the Ladies of Llangollen (1819) by Susan Murray Tait. National Library of Wales.