Monday, July 27, 2015

Civil War Dresses Exhibit


Some of you may remember that I attended an exhibit of Civil War era dresses last year at a local museum in Antioch, Illinois. They have another exhibit running though this summer (it ends September 6) and I saw it this past weekend. Seeing the old fabrics and the intricacy of the sewing was truly inspirational. The dresses are NOT reproductions. All are authentic period pieces dating from the 1850s - 1870s and part of a private collection.


The exhibit features summer dresses and ball gowns . . . 


. . .  as well as 19th century mourning clothing.

If you live in northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin (or even Iowa - only a short drive away, I hear) and this sort of thing appeals to you, then stopping by the museum is definitely worth your while. Here's a link to the museum's Facebook page for directions and other info.






Children's apparel



Look - an outfit trimmed with Prairie Points.




The fabrics were lovely and EVERYTHING was hand sewn.



Pack up the car, bring some friends and take a drive to Illinois this summer. Make sure you take the informative "tour" given by curator Ainsley Brook Wonderling. The dresses are all a part of her extensive and beautiful collection of 19th century artifacts.

Here's a link to the first post about the exhibit after I visited last year.

Part Two of the exhibit from 2014.   The exhibit showcases different dresses this year.



13 comments:

Marge Martin said...

Thank you for posting this. This would be a short trip from my home in Racine. Will have to try to visit.

quiltgrannie said...

Those dresses are beautiful!! And hand sewn!! Unbelievable!!

Donna Keating said...

Stunning. Wish I could see them in person.

Donna Keating said...

Stunning. Wish I could see them in person.

Donna Keating said...

Stunning. Wish I could see them in person.

Unknown said...

Thank you loved seeing these dresses - just amazing, love the history posts. I come from Australia and just spent 4 weeks in America and would love to come back, you have such amazing history.

Betsy's Basket Blog said...

Wow! Love these. Thank you so much for sharing. Wish I lived closer to see them for myself. I love the look and how the women looked in them but honestly, I'm so glad we don't have to wear them, especially in all of the heat and humidity!!

Yvonne said...

Too bad I live in the Netherlands! Would love to see this! Thanks for posting the pictures, what a lovely dresses!

Linda said...

What a treat to see these wonderful dresses! Thanks for sharing.

Mary @ Neat and Tidy said...

I absolutely love women's fashions from the Civil Ware - so feminine and intricate. Thank you for this post. I live in Pennsylvania and wouldn't be able to see these otherwise.

The Attic said...

OMG, wish I had known about this sooner, just got back from Illinois a week ago.

Jennifer M said...

Everything looks wonderful! Makes me want to see the other personal collection. If you ever hear of this in the future Kathy, please share the information, would love to see it all!

Denise said...

Wow, what a lovely collection, wish I lived closer.....I believe Maine might be a little more than a day away. Thanks for sharing your photos.