> I have a question for you 19th century types, born out of
> completely idle curiosity. This Christmas, I was given a
> lovely bracelet comprising different buttons from the 1870s.
> They are all about 1/2 inch in diameter, and have
> surprisingly complex and lovely designs in them. They are
> made of cut steel and brass, with occasional tiny flecks of
> what looks like marcasite, and are fairly hefty in weight for
> their size (because of the metal, I'm guessing).
> What on earth would something like that have been used on?
> The garment fabric would have to be pretty substantial to not
> deform or tear from the weight....
> --Sue in Montana
Buttons were a reasonably common decoration for visiting dresses (e.g. fancy
day dresses) - by decoration I mean used in places other then the center front
or back opening. On the vintage garments I own that use button decoration (one
of them is about 1878) the buttons are not functional and therefore can have
extra re-enforcement, as well as simply having less stress then a button with
an associated buttonhole. Wool (I have both a super fine weight and a
tweed-jacket weight bodice in my collection), velvet, silk taffeta and silk
faille were all common fabrics to make visiting dresses from - of those taffeta
is the only one that is really fragile. Also, almost all bodices (and many
skirts) were fully lined (usually with a very light weight brown-ish polished
cotton - I assume it was their equivalent of cheap muslin since most linings
are made of it.)
One other comment - beyond the cotton lining the 4 day bodices I own from the
1860-1870s do not have any extra reinforcement at the center front openings. In
one there is a bone placed beneath the buttons below the bust-shelf. But none
of the others have that. It is simply the fashion fabric plus the cotton lining
folded on itself once, with a tiny hem tucking the cut edges underneath.
Hope that helps :-)
-sunny
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