Fancy Dress Parties- Costumes from the 19th Century
In the 19th century, costume parties were not just for Halloween. In fact in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the “fancy dress” parties as they were called, were all the rage and hosted throughout the year. People would throw fancy dress parties or balls and require guests to come in costume, sometimes fitting historical or contemporary themes and other times requiring just a costume. These parties could become the event of the season, and would be detailed in newspapers and other periodicals.
Fancy dress ensembles. Peasant girl (left), c.1900, 1987.114.2 and Swiss guard (right), c.1910, 1987.114.1,
both Gifts of Mr. & Mrs. David D. White.
In his letter to his mother in 1837, James Macon Nicholson describes in great detail the glamourous fancy dress party hosted by Benjamin and Kitty Cohen (Maryland Historical Magazine, 14 (1919): 348–58). Along with his description of the rooms and the food at the event, James detailed the fancy dress of every person he could remember. He recollected for example, “Margaret Patterson was, I think she said, a Circassian Princess and her Dress was in perfect keeping, of rich materials and beautiful jewels & [she] wore a Crown Covered with jewels and she looked better than I ever saw her. Her cousin Charlotte Patterson was there, the daughter or Mrs. Joe Patterson and probably you know her, she wore a beautiful dress, and Italian Peasant I believe.” The peasant fancy dress he recalls may have looked something like that pictured above, though it was made much later.
Fancy Dresses Described or What to Wear at Fancy Balls by Ardern Holt, 1887.
Of course back then there were no Halloween stores popping up, no costumes-to-go bagged and labelled in standard sizes that you could just pick up last minute. Costumes had to be made, and as everyone wanted to look their best at the event of the season, a lot of work went into each fancy dress. To help people in their quest for the best fancy dress idea, there were several publications that gave detailed descriptions of concepts and instructions how to create the desired look. Fancy Dresses Described by Ardern Holt was so popular it was printed multiple times in the 1880s and 1890s. In the pages illustrated above, Holt describes in detail how to create a hornet fancy dress,”Short black or brown dress of velvet or satin;tunic pointed back and front, with gold stripes; satin bodice of black or brown with gold gauze wings; cap of velvet with eyes of antennae of insect” (Holt 1887, p.114-115). The accompanying image on the next page shows one possible execution of the Hornet fancy dress.
Fancy Dress, possibly “Folly,” 1870s, 1956.50.132 Bequest of Miss Josephine Cushing
The Fashion Archives at the Maryland Historical Society has many fancy dress costumes in its collection, and thanks to Holt's descriptions, we can guess at what idea that inspired each costume. For example, the dress above from the later part of the 19th century may have been an interpretation of “Folly” based on the use of bells on the back of the dress. Holt refers to using actual bells in the Folly costume as it is often associated with jesters. Due to the rich red floral and satin ribbons, it might also be an interpretation of Christmas.
Handmade girl's Fancy dress, Renaissance style, 1880-1885. 1983.12.2.1 Gift of Mrs. W. H. DeCourcy Tilghman
Fancy dress costumes were worn by children as well. Above, a young girl's Renaissance style fancy dress features dotted Swiss lace and a red and gold velvet dress with a cotton apron. At the top of the blog, the Swiss Guard costume was worn by an older boy whose family was from Switzerland. It is made of a thick velvet with a large gold applique on the front. All of these fancy dress costumes, whether worn by women, men, or children, were made with thought and care. That the costumes were preserved for future generations is a testament to the wearers' pride and sentimentality.
The fancy dress costumes featured in this blog were preserved thanks to the Adopt-A-Box program. Click below to find out how you can help us rediscover and preserve this amazing collection!
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References:
Diehlman, Louis Henry (ed.) “Mrs. B. I. Cohen's Fancy Dress Party. Maryland Historical Magazine, 14 (1919): 348–58. Original letter is part of the Shippen Papers, MS1415, H. Furlong Baldwin Library, Maryland Historial Society
