General Guidelines to Ladies' Dress of the Civil War Era

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(lots of period photographs of Civil War ladies)

From the skin out: (Undergarments in the order that they go on)
Ladies of the 1860s wore up to 6 layers of clothing!  But it wasn't because it was just plain fun; instead, each layer of clothing served a useful purpose and added to the overall demure effect that the lady was trying to achieve.

1.  Drawers:

• crotchless/split drawers were worn for convenience.
• they were constructed as two separate legs joined together at the waistband.
• minimal trim; tucks were mainly used, but not gobs of synthetic lace.
• came down to approximately mid-calf.  Younger, more fashionable women were shorter drawers, while older women were longer ones per the 1840s-50s.
• PURPOSE: To prevent men's eyes from seeing too much if they "accidentally" caught a glimpse of a lady's leg, Heaven forbid.

2.  Chemise

• this was a one-piece, unfitted garment (think nightgown without the high neck and long sleeves) which went on over the drawers, but under the corset.
• short sleeved, wide neckline that either fitted snugly around the shoulders.
• often decorated with fine lace or embroidery around the neckline.
• ladies usually had several chemises in order to wear a clean one each day.
• PURPOSE: The chemise was worn next to the skin 1) mainly to protect the dress, which was not frequently washed, from the skin's oils and 2) because you do NOT want your skin pinched as you try to hook up your corset.  Not fun.

3. Corset

• corsets were worn by nearly every woman from every class.
• even young girls were put into training corsets; also women wore maternity stays, which could be expanded by side lacings as she grew, and was also constructed to facilitate nursing.
• corsets were NOT worn to get a woman to the mythical waistline of 16" or to give her cleavage, but rather were designed to give women a smooth line from the chest to the midriff, so that she would not have any unsightly, ahem, fat rolls.
• corsets, when properly laced, were designed to come within 2 inches between the back pieces. In this way the corset could be snugged up during the day as the wearer's body grew accustomed to it.
• an alternative to wearing a corset when doing a working impression would be "stays," which is more of a pre-war garment.  Stays were more or less a lightly boned, more flexible corset with shoulder straps.  This meant that a lady would still be held in and retain a smooth silhouette, even as her supportive undergarment had more "give" in it to allow her to do manual labor.
• PURPOSE: this was the quintessential undergarment to creating the smoothly molded look we see in old pictures.  A properly fitted corset is not uncomfortable to wear (unless it's 90 degrees out) and pulls together the look of the 1860s.

4.  Hoop/Cage

• hoopskirts were worn by most women and were one of the major defining fashion characteristics of this time period.
• hoops were flexible steel rings held together either with a cotton covering, or left uncovered - a cage hoop (a very common type of hoop during the 1860s, invented in 1857)
• hoops were generally about 40% to 60% of the wearer's height; this will vary depending on your impression.
• appearance should be dome-shaped.
• bottom hoop should be about 8-10" above the ground to prevent the wearer from tripping.
• an alternative when doing a working impression would be a corded petticoat--a cotton or wool petticoat with  many rows of thick cording sewn in, and commonly starched to provide stiffness to hold the skirt.  Thus the skirt would still have a somewhat fashionable shape, but without an unwieldy hoop beneath to get in the way.

5.  Petticoat

• 1-2 petticoats were worn over the hoop to prevent the hoop ridges from showing through to the skirt.
• as with the chemise and drawers, petticoats were left fairly plain except for some white embroidery, tucks, or small, delicate lace.

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Day Dresses:

• Elements
• 1 piece dresses, or two matching pieces that were sewn together at the waist were by far the most common.
• larger patterns required extra lengths of fabrics in order to match designs, and thus were more common on wealthier women who could afford the extra fabric.
• constructed of natural fibers, not synthetic.  Cotton, wool, silk and the large number of blends of these fibers were used for day dresses.  Silk is better off reserved for a nice day dress, or an evening or ball gown.
• armscyes (the seam where the sleeve meets the shoulder) were ALWAYS about 2" off the shoulder.  This helped to achieve the look of gently sloping shoulders, and drew attention to the illusion of a smaller waist.
• very narrow self-piping (1/8") was used on all sorts of dresses at the armscyes, and commonly at the waist seam and to finish the neckline.  When used at seams, it served as a decorative element and also strengthened the seams.
• the back seams of the dress should come within 1-2" of each other, no farther
• for the waist treatment, skirts were either 1) gauged (two sets of parallel stitching-think railroad tracks- pulled into neat, uniform gathers; this was a rather outmoded style, but still popular with day and work dresses.  2) knife pleated, which is basically small, 1/2" pleats.  The pleats should change direction at the front and back, and often at the sides also.  3) box pleats.  This was two pleats, one on top of the other, facing another set of pleats, one on top of another.  In this way you could put more material into a smaller area.  In general, aim for narrower pleats, as wide, flat box pleats are a post-war fashion.

• Styles
• one popular style was a fitted bodice with two sets of double darts, and either a 3-piece "princess-seam" back or a one piece back that was sewn in such a way as to look like a 3-piece.
• these types of bodices were often held together at the front by hidden hooks and eyes, and had decorative buttons sewn down the front to give the illusion of a button-and-buttonhole fastening. Velcro, zippers, and snaps did not exist as of this time period.
• another popular style was the gathered "O" bodice.  This had a fitted lining much like the darted bodice, but the fashion fabric was cut larger at the waist so as to be gathered into the waistband at where the darts would have been, and also gathered across the back.

• Sleeves
• the "pagoda" sleeve looked like a wide bell, and white, removable undersleeves were worn to fill out the shape.  This was a somewhat dated sleeve style from the mid-to-late 1850s.
• the "bishop" sleeve (my personal favorite) is basically a large rectangle, pleated or eased into the armscye and gathered into a cuff.  This was a very popular sleeve style, and probably the easiest to make.
• the "coat" sleeve was made in two pieces, much as men's sleeves were constructed.  It fit smoothly into the armscye without gathering or pleating, widened at the elbow to allow for the natural curve of the arm, and tapered down to the wrist, without a cuff or gathering.  This was another very popular style.
• the "double puff" sleeve (my own term) was fairly uncommon, but nevertheless seen in original images.  The sleeve was tight from the wrist up until about 1/3 of the way up your elbow, where two puffs were made.

Collars:

• most collars of our time period are less than 2" wide, and more commonly closer to 1".
• round, jewel-neckline collars were very popular.
• collars were made of a sturdy white cotton, and were basted to the inside of the neckline for easy removal and laundering.
• younger women often wore a tied ribbon of sorts at the point where their collars met:  this is seen very frequently in period CDVs.
• wider collars are seen on older women, and are a carryover from styles of the 1850s.

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Work Dresses:

• follow the same construction guidelines as day dresses.
• were often recycled from old worn out and patched up day dresses.
• meant to be worn if the lady was doing work around the house, in the garden, or in the field.
• not meant to be worn if the lady was receiving company, out visiting or shopping, or anywhere else where she would be seen in less than presentable attire.  Women of the era were very "society-minded," meaning that they cared about how they were perceived by others, and how they had appearances to keep up.

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Ball Gowns:

• most women would not have owned a ball gown.
• balls at the time of the Civil War were large, ornate social gatherings where the cream of society met, not the dances that are commonly held at re-enactments nice day dress would be appropriate there - besides, who wants to get their beautiful ball gown scuffed up and sweated into at a re-enactment?
• a two-piece garment, made of expensive silk or silk blends.
• usually laced up the back, and came to a deep point at the front and often the back.
• neckline was left open, but would have been lined with a small, narrow "tucker" to prevent unwanted glances down the front.
• can use a variety of sleeves, but one of the more common was a small, short-sleeved puff.
• use light colors.  Most originals are light because in an era of dances by candlelight, this shows up much better.  Ladies with dark gowns tend to become lost in the background as the dress blends in easily with the dark room.

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Hair:

• nearly ALWAYS parted down the middle.
• no bangs whatsoever.
• gathered smoothly into a bun or roll at the nape of the neck (the "elaborateness" of the hairstyle was dictated by the occasion).
• a rather outmoded OR ball hairstyle would be ringlets hanging down.
• if you have short hair, you may want to try a hairpiece or braid roll of your hair color, held on by hairpins.

Hair nets (not referred to as snoods - that is a much later term for the article described):

• worn not to confine the hair, but to keep strays in check.
• holes in the net should be just small enough that a pencil can fit through (think lunch lady hairnet).
• were not worn by all women.

Hats:

• primarily worn by younger, more fashionable girls and women
• considered more riske because unlike bonnets, they exposed the back of the neck
• generally had low 2"crowns, and fairly small (2-3") brims.  NO Scarlett O'Hara hats!  :-)
• often decorated with a bit of lace or ribbon
• held on by hat pins which were about 8" long, and were very plain with small black, white or wooden balls at the end. 

Bonnets:

• primarily worn by older and married women, but also by younger women when attending church, or going visiting (always more "proper" and formal head attire for any age group).
• do not necessarily have to match your outfit - especially if you portray a lady of limited means.
• the "spoon" style was the very popular.  It's kind of hard to describe, but it came to a high arch at the top in order to complete the overall effect of lady's costume, so that she ended up looking something like a triangle (with the spoon bonnet being the tip).

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Things to keep in mind:

• Just because you can afford expensive fabrics, accessories, bonnets, etc today doesn't mean that you could have in the 1860s.  Keep in mind that at that time, and especially since there was a war going on, money would have been tighter and you would have wanted to make your garments last as long as possible.  Many garments of the period had economical aspects to them, such as removable undersleeves (for easy cleaning), deep false hems on the inside of the skirt (to save the hem from wear and tear), and detachable collars - again for easy laundering.
• People didn't acquire wardrobes all at one time; instead it was a process of little bits and accessories here and there if expenses permitted, and if it was necessary.
• When in doubt, keep it simple.  It is better to be a more understated, conservative dresser and have a middle-class persona because this was in reality very common.  Dressing in excessively rich and expensive fabrics and frills is appropriate if your persona is of a lady from the upper class, but keep in mind that even during wartimes, they would have cut back a bit.
• Always keep doing research - the best primary sources come from period diaries, journals, newspaper accounts, photographs, and many other venues.  Re-enacting is that much more fun when someone asks you a question and you know that you are able to give an accurate response because you did your own research, and you know your answer is correct.

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