Made-to-measure wedding dresses and ballgowns
I offer a made-to-measure service for vintage-inspired wedding dresses and special occasion wear.  If you see something on the site that's not in your size, it can be made up to fit you.

 How to date antique and vintage clothing
 
pre-1790  Sleeves end at elbow with lace/linen cuffs; cotton or linen worn against the skin for washability. 

1800  Empire line (straight, caught under bust); flimsy; off-the-shoulder and trained at the back.  Indian cottons and muslins.

1820  Skirts flare slightly below the knee; waist returns to waist-level; puff sleeves.

1826  The war with France ends and silk becomes available again.

1830  Skirts slightly shorter and more flared with lower, tighter waist; leg-of-mutton sleeves; bright colours.

1835  Balloon sleeves with slipped shoulders. 

1840  Skirts full and to the floor with many petticoats; low waist, close-fitting bodice; dark colours; sleeves tight or bulging over lower arm; ballet slippers or .

1850  Flounced skirts.

1860  Crinolines - first horsehair then wire after 1856.  Bright colours such as mauve, purple, green, magenta and pink available due to aniline dyes – extracted from coal tar in 1856 by Sir William Perkin. 

1865  Crinoline slips to the back of the skirt.

1870  Sewing machine introduced.  Aniline dyes introduced for brighter colours.  Bustle  (horsehair) introduced; front of skirt straight; overskirts bunched up at back.

1875  No bunching up of skirts; bustle slips lower down; trained skirt.

1880  Skirt draped horizontally at front to emphasis tiny waist.

1885  Bustles of braided wire or metal bands.

1890  Bustle disappears; dresses smooth over hips; skirts long and bell-shaped with train; high neck, lots of lace; sleeves peaked at shoulders and tight.

1895  Balloon sleeves; mauve, pale pink, white are popular colours.

1900  S-shaped stance from new straight-fronted corsets; blouses and skirts; sleeves tight and very long; tailor-mades introduced.

1905  Pigeon-front; high, boned neck.

1910  Big change inspired by Russian Ballet; Poiret; long skirts narrow at hem, often hobbled; soft drapery; buttons rather than lace for trim; garish colours.

1913  V-neck rather than high collar; medici collar at back of neck.

1916  Chemise cut long and full and belted under the bosom; flat front and back; gathered pleats under arm; Lanvin, Paquin, Worth, Lucile, Fortuny; hemlines above ankles; fur trims.

1917  Tonneau or barrel skirt; peg-top drapes or wings over hips; Callot sisters introduce spun silver and gold tissues.

1918  Skirts long and tight at the ankle; overskirt or tunic to just below the knee.

1919  Afternoon dresses/garden frocks.

1920  Chanel; long, completely tubular dresses with no waist and flat chest; no corsets.

1921  Handkerchief hems, sequins and fringes; cocoon coats and lame capes.

1923  Waist now at hip-level; Egyptian influence from discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb.

1924  Satin used in the evening for the first time; Vionnet bias-cut.

1925  Skirts get shorter (9-10" off the ground), as does hair; over-tunics or jackets to hip-level with tubular skirts; beaded flapper dresses.

1926  Androgyny; evening dresses are pale and pastel; tea-gown replaced by satin pyjamas.  Coats with padded collars.

1927  Skirts reach their shortest point; draping around hips.

1929  Gauze overskirt or floating panels give length.

1930  Waist returns to waist-level; skirts slim and straight; Molyneux evening dresses of panelled white satin; the back comes into focus.

1935  Longer skirts begin from a moulded or draped hip-yoke and then flare; shoulders wider than hips; butterfly sleeves; flowers; chiffon.

1938  Grecian drapes; shoulders, peplums; trousers.

1939  Flared skirts, calf-length for day, long for evening.

1940  Shorter, below-the-knee skirt; tubular; square, padded shoulders.

1947  Dior's New Look with nipped-in waist and full skirt.

1949  Tent shape or hourglass.

1950  Strapless, full-skirted evening gowns.

1955  Puffball skirts.

1958  Capri pants and sweaters; A-line dresses.

1961  Mary Quant and the mini.

1965  Carnaby Street; Courreges.

1966  Paco Rabanne.

1967  Maxi/midi skirts.

1968  Romantic, floral.

1970  Hippie, boho.

1972  Crisp, clean, preppy.

1973  Biba.

1975  Disco and glam rock. 

 
Glossary - styles and materials

Batiste - fine cotton muslin.

Batting - cotton in sheets, as used in making quilts.

Bengaline - soft, fine, corded fabric of silk and wool, resembling poplin, with pronounced crosswise ribs.

Blackwork – embroidery worked in black thread on a white ground.  Thought to have been introduced by Catherine of Aragon and so sometimes called Spanish work.

Boteh - the teardrop shape used in paisley.

Broadcloth – a fine, smooth-faced woollen cloth for men’s garments, usually of double width ie a yard and a half.  It is felted so that it never unravels when cut.  A fabric for women’s clothes with a slightly napped surface.

Brocade - a jacquard fabric with a raised overall interwoven design giving an embossed effect, often highlighted by contrasting metallic yarns.  A pattern is brocaded when a supplementary weft is introduced into the ground weave only for the width of the motif and not from selvage to selvage, to save expensive silk.

Broderie anglaise – consists of open work spaces cut or punched and then overcast.  The edges are always finished with scallops.  Also called Ayrshire, English, eyelet, Madeira or Swisswork.

Buckram - coarse linen or hemp cloth stiffened with size or glue.

Bugle bead – a small, long bead which can be a cylinder or faceted.

Calico – plain, cheap white cotton cloth

Cambric - fine, thin, white fabric of flax or linen.

Canvas - strong linen, sometimes used to line corsets.

Challis – soft and delicate woolen and silk dress fabric without gloss.

Chenille – a furry thread like a caterpillar made into a tufted cord of silk, worsted, wool or cotton. 

Chiffon - sheer, soft, flowing, semi-transparent thin silk.

Chine – a method of printing the warp and not the weft before weaving so the pattern has a misty effect.

Cotton – fabric made of cotton, including:

Glazed cotton – a glossy surface produced by the action of heat, pressure, chemical action or starch.  Repels dirt.

Mercerized cotton – from John Mercer (1791-1866) an English calico printer who invented the process of treating cotton fabrics with a solution of caustic alkali, which causes the fabric to shrink and become stronger and more receptive of dyes.  If the cloth is kept under tension during the process it assumes a silky lustre.

Crepe - usually silk or woollen fabric with a crimped surface achieved by using a high-twist yarn.

Crepe de chine - fine, soft crepe with silk warp and weft.

Crepeline - very thin, light material of silk or silk and wool.  Also called silk lisse.

Crewel – worsted yarn, loosely twisted, used for embroidery and fancy work.

Crochet - knitting done with a hooked needle.

Cuirasse - a stiff, corset-like jacket of the late 19C that comes down over the hips.

Cutwork – any form of embroidery where portions of the base material are cut away from the background of the design.

Renaissance cutwork – larger spaces decorated with bars

Richelieu cutwork – addition of picots to the bars

Italian cutwork – built up around small squares filled with needlepoint stitches

Damask - silk woven with an elaborate pattern.

Dimity - fine, thin cotton fabric with raised stripes or cords.  White or coloured, often figured.

Dolman sleeve – a sleeve which is cut in one piece with the bodice and thus has no seam around the arm socket.  It is wide and creates a deep armhole that reaches almost to the waist.

Domino - a cape.

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