~ Civil War Sheer Summer Dress ~

This is a beautiful light weight summer dress in a soft shade of robin's egg blue. This dress will help you keep your cool no matter how hot it gets!

The fabric is a 100% sheer cotton in a very soft robin's egg blue. The bodice is lined with pure white 100% cotton to maintain your modesty. The bodice closes with period correct hook and eye closures, and is accented with 2-hole buttons in a soft white with the shimmer of mother of pearl.

The dress is shown on a dress form with a bust measurement of 38 inches and a waist measurement of 33 1/2 inches. This is for a very snug fit. If a less snug fit is desired, then your measurements should be a smaller than this. The dress is displayed over a 6-bone hoopskirt, which is not included. The skirt measures 49 inches at the center front from waist to the hem. The skirt of the dress features a deep flounce which was all hand gathered, before being attached to the skirt. This dress is unhemmed, and is slightly longer in the back to give a more graceful appearance. This is a period correct method for hemming a dress of this type as it allows the skirt to fall gracefully over the hips and not ride up in the back. The skirt has a generous 176 inch sweep. The sleeves are a full bishop style with white cuffs which match the collar. The cuffs fasten with hook and eye closures, which is correct to the period.

The neckline, waist, and armscyes are all piped in the period correct method. No other seams are piped, as this would not be true to the period, and the piping used is very fine, which is also correct. This dress has many hours of hand stitching, as all of the piping has to be created and fastened to the dress by hand.

The bodice closes with hand sewn hooks and eyes. The skirt is attached and the entire dress closes with a period correct dogleg closure. The bodice is fully lined in 100% cotton, which wears very well and helps to keep the lines smooth over many washes and wearings. The collar is basted in to allow for separate laundering, but is fastened very securely so will withstand many wearings without coming loose.

*** Only 100% cotton has been used to give breathability to the fabric in hot weather. All fabric was pre-washed before this outfit was made so that no shrinkage should occur.

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