Dancing School Dress, 1895

A beautiful Victorian dress is recreated from an original 1895 pattern to be an exact replica of an advertised “Dancing School Dress” for a young girl.

This pattern was included in an 1895 issue of Harper’s Bazar as a separate thin paper supplement. These supplements rarely survived for obvious reasons, in that they were used by the reader as home dressmaking patterns to create the latest fashion styles.

[Original illustration provided in Harper's Bazaar in 1895.]

Harper's Bazar, later spelled Harper’s Bazaar, was an American weekly women's fashion magazine that began publication in 1867. Based in New York, this magazine was intended for women of the middle and upper socio-economic classes. The focus of Harper's Bazaar was on "....the useful with the beautiful and aiming to include every thing that will be interesting to the family circle.... Being intended largely for ladies, it will devote a considerable space to the matters which fall particularly under their jurisdiction, such as dress and household affairs." [Harpers Bazar, November 2, 1867].

In 1901, Harper's Bazaar became a monthly magazine, and in 1929 its title was changed to Harper's Bazaar, a magazine still in publication today.