Monday, September 5, 2011

Photo Number 645

A start of a new week.  Lets look at some awesome dresses.  Sometimes I will purchase a photo because a lady is wearing a dress that looks like it might be one of a kind, or it may have some feature that I have never seen before.
White Dress with Bustle Cab Card Solway
This lady has quite a “shelfy” bustle at the back of her dress and a very pretty fan in her hand.  The hem appears to have a scalloped edge.

Theodore Brown was a photographer in Marshalltown Iowa from 1878 to 1920.  In 1900 he was at the address No. 19 W Main Street according to the Iowa Federal Census. 

I believe that this dress may be from a bit earlier..perhaps about 1885.

This is a Cabinet Card that I purchased at Solway Minnesota.

Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)

Fashionable update from Whowerethey! 


Fascinating to see such a light colored dress made up as a bustle dress. It could have gotten incredibly dirty so she must have had a life of leisure. The dress is a work of art - I agree, second bustle period for sure.

7 comments:

  1. The hem is very pretty and what a "bustle!" Another interesting and beautiful old photo, Connie.

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  2. That hem is really a work of art. Those old dresses are beautiful but I cannot imagine wearing them in the summer. Living in NC now, I think of all the under things these ladies wore, and then those long dresses. No wonder life moves slower in the south.

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  3. Lovely photo, I can see why the dress attracted you to it. I hope it can be successfully reunited with the family it comes from.

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  4. The bustle kept the dress tidy. It also seems to make a woman appear taller. Standing next to that chair, she may not be as tall as she appears to be.

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  5. I think the chair looks pretty "regal" too - the lady's wireframe glasses and feather fan are chic too!

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  6. Her dress looks like it emulates the Elizabethan style. The bustle resembles a bumroll and her skirts have a similar flare to those that would have a farthingale under it. Neat!

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  7. Fascinating to see such a light colored dress made up as a bustle dress. It could have gotten incredibly dirty so she must have had a life of leisure. The dress is a work of art - I agree, second bustle period for sure.

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie