1820s Dress

An elegant early 1820s dress features detachable lower sleeves, which when removed, transform the dress for evening wear. The dress is made of a fine cotton muslin with a woven stripe pattern in graduated shades of mustard yellow to medium brown. It is trimmed with an applied decoration of medium brown satin bands/stripes.

The bodice of the dress is slightly high-waisted with angled bands of brown satin decorating the front and back. The short puff sleeves are gathered in between bands of brown satin. The skirt is flat to the front with drawstring gathers from the side to the back closure. Angled vertical bands of the brown satin are applied on the lower ten inches of the skirt. This dress fastens at the back with a hook and eye at the neck and a drawstring at the waist. The separate matching detachable lower sleeves feature a silk ribbon drawstring at the top and a cuff with two bands of brown silk. Both the bodice and the hem are faced with glazed cotton.

This image highlights the angled bands of brown satin decorating the bodice and trimming the long sleeves.

An evening dress from an 1821 fashion magazine features a similar bodice with "V" shaped trimmings and long sleeves with a puff sleeve at the top.