Beautiful Dresses!

It's Beautiful Dress Time! or BDT for short.

This sexy little number is what is known as a Robe a l'anglaise. from the latter half of the 18th century. (17980's or so)  Beautiful cotton fabric with a metallic embroidery design. Center front closure and 3/4 sleeves, which may have once had a few flounces on them. The bodice appears to be tabbed at the hem and, though we can't see it, the neckline is probably deep and rounded.

Now, what's so confusing about this gown is that it appears to be depicted with Pocket hoops as the skirt support. At least, that's what I believe. The silhouette of the skirt is pretty square, all things considered. The fullest part is not at the hips, like you would see with a bum roll.

This is the back view of the same dress, the square hips are really obvious here. And the skirt train seems 'collapsed'.

The silhouette of this gown is beautiful, and misleading. White cotton fabric, embroidery that runs vertical, what appears to be a train, puff sleeves and a below bust waist line are all details of 1805-1810. The wide sash isn't typical of the time, but not totally implausible. What's so strange is the fullness of the skirt. It must be shown over a relatively full petticoat for the time. I love this dress and shape and I am a stickler for accuracy. How can you not love it? It's beautiful!