The Game: Round Two

Good morning! I'm making an executive decision and moving my Fashion in Film posts to Monday. Thanks for bearing with me as I monkey around with the schedule and content. Just so I don't leave you in the lurch, let's play a game. No, not thermonuclear war. I was thinking more about The Game. Check out the rules if you don't know how the game works. Let's get started!

All of the images in this post are courtesy of ornamentedbeing.tumblr.com, a very nifty historical fashion Tumblr.

This is raising a lot of question marks for me. It's 19th century, that's for sure, but I can't tell when exactly. The low bodice and the full skirt say 1850's to me, but the skirt isn't nearly humongous enough, and the details on the dress isn't anything like the mid century. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I'd say that this is a court dress, since those were notorious for not following the fashions of the day. The stately ribbon detail hints this as well. It's somewhere in the second half of the 19th century, but I can't say when for certain. I'm thinking it must be some time where a fitted, low-necked bodice was in style for evening wear, but a fuller skirt was just going out of style. An era that matches up with that is the late 1870's. I'm inclined to think that it was the later 1870's, since skirts were still rather full at the beginning of the decade. So, I'll call it 1878.

My guess: 1878

Actual date: 1867. Hey, not too bad for a total guess. Let's see if I can do better with this next one.

Well, this photo of the bodice already screams 1870's to me (what with the high collar, dark jewel tone fabric, and structured corset), but with the help of some handy additional images, we can see that this dress has a slight bustle, and a massive train that shows that this is no ordinary day dress. I honestly don't know what the crazy train is all about, but I do know that the bustle matched with the relative fullness of the skirt means we're dealing with the early 1870's. Perhaps early to mid-decade, since the bustle seems a bit lower than those at the beginning of the decade. I'll go with 1874.

My guess: 1874

Actual date: 1885. And hey, guess what? It's a court dress. I guess that explains the funky train, and the fact that I thought it was earlier.

Well, this fluffy white cloud definitely says mid-century. It's not the 1850's, since the skirt doesn't resemble a sphere. The volume seems to be drifting more towards the back of the skirt, so I think we're looking at the mid to late 1860's. The high-necked, long-sleeved nature of the bodice lends to that as well. I'll go with 1867.

My guess: 1867

Actual date: "1870's." Close enough? I'm dying for a win after two strikes. Well, let's try one more and see if I can make it.

Those sleeves definitely say 1890's.  The corset and the high neck say the same thing. Those sleeves aren't the size of young children, so I have to think that this is from the early decade. I'll say this is from 1893.

My guess: 1893

Actual date: 1885-89. At least it's within my five-year range for a correct guess. 

Well, the fun thing about writing this blog is that I always have things to learn. See you on Monday for the new installment of Fashion in Film!

The Game

(No, not that one)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Hint: it's not a secret at all. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to historical fashion. One thing I love to do for fun is to look at old paintings and photographs of historical clothing and guess what year they're from. It's a little nerdy (Read: very nerdy. Frighteningly nerdy), but it's also really fun, and it stretches my knowledge to its limit, and way beyond. Let's play a round, and I'll show you what I mean.

Here are the rules of the game.

1. Go to oldrags.tumblr.com, historicalfashion.tumblr.com, or some other website that has photos of clothing with the year underneath. I'll be using a mixture of both sites for this round of the game (mainly because both sites also have photos of nightgowns, hats, and things that are outside my expertise). All images in this post are from either oldrags.tumblr.com or historicalfashion.tumblr.com
2. Scroll down so that you can see the photo, but not the caption.
3. Guess the year from which the garment comes.
4. Scroll down to see if you're right!

It's as simple as that! Of course, it's pretty difficult to get the year exactly right, so I count it as a correct answer my guess is within five years of the correct date.

Let's get going!

The first thing I'm seeing here is the bell-shaped skirt, which says we're somewhere between 1830 and 1850. The narrow sleeves rule out the 1830's, so we're looking at something in the 1840's. The oversleeves, the high neckline, and the v-shaped bodice all look like fashions that came near the beginning of the 1850's, but the skirt just isn't big enough. I'm thinking we're looking at something in the late 1840's. I'll go with 1848.

My guess: 1848

Actual date: 1835-1840. It looks like I was about a decade off. Shame. Let's see if I do better with the next one.

Okay, well the beautiful quality of the photograph rules out anything before the 1860's-70's, we can tell that without even looking at the gown. The crazy amount of corseting going on here also points to the late Victorian era. The lady's hairstyle says 1880's, with the frizzled bangs and high bun. The sleeves are really what's throwing me here, married with the fact that I really only have the bodice to work with.The waistline looks very pointed, which also says 1880's. I'm puzzled by this gorgeous gown. My gut is saying early 1880's, though. I'll go with 1884.

My guess: 1884

Actual date: The site just lists it as "1880's-90's," so I guess I'm in the clear.

Well, my first inclination is to scream "Downton Abbey," so I'm thinking we're in the pre-war 1910's here. In the interest of going off of some cold hard evidence instead of my fangirl tendencies, I'll also point out the loose draping, high waistline, lace, and silk that were characteristic of the era. I'll say 1911 for this one.

My guess: 1911
Actual date: 1910-11. Let's just say I feel like Charlie Sheen right now. Winning.

We don't get to see much of the dress here, but I think the few details we can see from the back will be enough. The hoop skirt is the big piece of evidence (literally), and it lands us firmly in the 1850's or 1860's. What little I can see of the bodice makes me think we're somewhere between 1855-1865, because of the low neckline that was briefly unpopular for evening in the later 1860's. I'm going to take a shot in the dark from there and say 1861.

My guess: 1861

Actual date: 1860's, which doesn't tell us much. I'll call it a tentative win? A win with an asterisk?

The empire waist says we definitely have something in the Extended Regency. From there, things get a little difficult. If you've read my Decade Wednesday posts on the era, you'll know that fashion didn't progress much during the Regency era because of the Napoleonic wars in France, which makes it hard to pin down a specific year for this outfit. Still, we'll give it a go. The bonnet is something from earlier in the Regency, not like the more hat-like chapeaus we see in the 1820's. The dress is simple and understated, which also says early Regency, with the "return-to-nature" vibe at the turn of the 19th century. I honestly have no idea what's going on with the ruff, so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist. Another honorable mention is the background of this painting, which features nature and neoclassicism with that snazzy pot-and-pedestal combo. I'll go with 1803.

My guess: 1803
Actual date: Listed as "early 1820's." Ooh, that's pretty embarrassing. Well, I guess that means I need to brush up on my Regency era fashion. Does watching Jane Austen adaptations count as homework? I'm not entirely sure.

Three for five isn't too bad, I'd say. I'd love to do a little cramming (via Jane Austen marathons and Pinterest, like the pros do) and play another round in the near future. In the meantime, you should study up with Decade Wednesday and try the game yourself!