1870 Mennonite Wedding Dress

This dress is an 1870 Mennonite wedding dress worn by Fannie Frey when she married Henry B. Aierstock. This piece of clothing represents a lot of Mennonite wedding dresses because many conservative Mennonite women during this time were not all wearing the Victorian style of clothing with a large bustle and perhaps large train in a wedding. In many pictures I have looked at women of this time were beginning to move towards a much more conservative form of dress because the Mennonite revivals of a more strict movement were approaching towards the end of the 19th century and I believe that this form of dress was part of it. Other Mennonite women I looked at in pictures did follow some of the fashion trends of the time including frivolous lace or sleeves, as conservative Mennonites would have called it. More traditional Christian followers did not believe in wearing any form of jewelery or frivolous attachment on their person. Even having your photograph taken on your wedding day or other special occasions was thought to be frivolous by many Mennonites. A woman of this time would have hopes and dreams of receiving a perfect dowry to begin her life as a good wife, mother, cleaner, and cook. Fashion was based upon frivolous needs that didn't need to be fully met in the Mennonite culture. The fact that this dress is of a possible silk satin material with a little laces is the addition that would have been perfect for any conservative Mennonite woman on her wedding day.

1865 Wool Print Dress

This dress is from the Civil war or post civil war period. This dress would not have been an evening gown that was worn to a fancy ball. Like the dress before it it would have most likely been worn as a day dress. This would not have quite been for working purposes, but maybe more for an afternoon with friends because of the lightness in color. It is not an expensive fabric or print because of the small floral pattern this indicates that less was needed to make the dress and it could be paneled closer together. Geometric and floral prints were one of the most popular of its time because the grometric could be easily turned inside out and the small floral could be pieced together closely, in both cases using less fabric. During this period the trend of hoops was on its way out and a flatened front was coming into style moving the crinolines to the back. I am not sure who wore this dress but it most likely would of been a woman of middle class stance with the ability to sew and construct her own dress, which most women started to do at this time because of the sewing machine and the high textile industry that need women workers during the war. The large and wide silk southern belle dresses were not the everyday occasion dresses, a dress like this was for the everyday woman who wanted look nice for less. Wool fabric was one of the four most popular fabrics used during this time along with silk, cotton, and linen. Fabrics were being finished to look like others in textile factories, but it still wouldn't have been as easy to get them for an everyday middle class woman.

1860-1865 Plaid Silk dress

This dress is from about 1860-1865. It is a silk satin green plaid dress with fringe on sleeves and attached shawl. We did not find a particular wearer or donor of this dress. This type of pattern was very popular right before and during the civil war period. In the 1850's this dress would have been worn with crinolines or a hoop under the skirt with stockings being held up by garters. By the time the 1860's came about dresses were beginning to flattened out from the wide circular trend. Petticoats, bonnets, and capes were also important trends during this time. There were dresses for mourning, parlor entertaining, and walking dresses. This particular dress would have been a walking dress for the afternoon.