A General Overveiw of Mid-century Young Ladies Dresses

By Chessa Swing

Punch Magazine, August 1856 Corsets, crinolines, and petticoats, oh my! 

Constructing a material impression for a young lady can be a challenge.  You may ask yourself "Should I dress like an adult woman, or a child?" The answer is "Somewhere in between."

A lot of how you dress will depend on the social class your portray and how your mother would have dressed you. If you were wealthy, you would be more likely to stay in dresses that close in the back and have other childlike features well into your teen years.  However, your working class sister may have fully adopted adult clothing well before you. Of course, there is all sorts of overlap and variation, just as there is with anything mid-century.

• Front or back bodice closure, bodice styles

Most young girl's bodices closed in the back (save for some high fashion clothing items), and most adult women's dressed closed in the front. Look at period pictures to try and decide which you would like best. Remember: Most back opening dresses require assistance while dressing.

Front Closer:

Back Closer:

Bodice styles varied for young ladies just as much as they did for women, and more!  Yoked bodices were common, as well as gathered and fitted bodices. Wide or shallow boat , jewel and shallow V-necklines were all options for young ladies.

• Long or short sleeves

Using either long sleeves or short sleeves is acceptable, with many styles and variations well within the realm of normal. Take into consideration that if you make short sleeves and plan to wear the dress outside, you will need to apply sunscreen ever so often (avoiding skin cancer is a must, even if sunscreen is not authentic) .

• Skirt length

Skirts were generally hemmed at varying lengths, but were usually shorter the younger you are. Adult women of the working class sometimes hemmed their skirts to ankle length, just as 16 year old girls would have. Again, there is much variation.

Harper's Bazaar, 1868

**NOTE: although this photo dates the Civil War by 3 years, I've found that the same usually holds true for early-mid 1860's skirts, also. Young lady, 1850's Tucks are a great way to extend the wearing period of your garment. Used extensively during the period, tucks enable you to wear a dress, even after you have grown by inches, or you get older and must have longer skirts. This is just a brief overview of some components of a young ladies wardrobe in the mid-1800's.