Good day Fashionable Reader,
Today I’m posting all about what Sophronia was wearing under all those floofy dresses I describe in the Finishing School series. These books take place in the 1850s before the crinoline so the underpinnings are rather interesting.
For those of us who are obsessed with such things.
I hope you enjoy this, I had a lot of fun pulling it together.
A dress like this, worn as a daytime garment for classes:
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| 1850s Ensemble Nordiska Museet |
Sophronia might also carry:
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| 1850s Parasol The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Or perhaps…
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| 1867 Fan Souvenir de l’exposition universelle |
Her first layer under that outfit:
Under the dress above, she’d be wearing something like this:
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| Accessory Set 1850s The Metropolitan Museum of Art: a lace tuck or collar, and sleeve extensions. |
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| Corset Cover 1864-1868 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Stocking 1860 Les Arts Décoratifs |
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| Shoes 1854-1860 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
There would also be gloves, of course.
The next Layer under that:
Underneath those we have…
Corset Roxy Ann Caplin, 1851 The Museum of London
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| 1855-1865 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Likely there would also be something like split drawers, but I couldn’t find a good image from this particular time period.
Note that there is no cage crinoline, it is introduced to England after the Finishing School series.
Similar foundation garments might go under Sophronia’s transformation gown.
The Transformation Gown
If she were going out visiting and paying calls she would wear this:
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| Robe à Transformation 1855 The Metropolitan Museum of Art2 |
With these over it:
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| Accessory Set 1850s The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
And for an evening ball, this version of the dress…
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| 1855 Robe à Transformation 1855 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
With these in her hair:
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| 1850 Headdress & Bouquet Mid 19th Century MFA |
And this to ward off the chill:
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| Cape 1855 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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- The 5th Gender (a Tinkered Stars sci-fi as G. L. Carriger).
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- Secret Project Ommm, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
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The transformation dress puts me in mind of a jellyfish — floating innocently through the ocean of fashion, all floaty and transparent. 😉
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