vintage dress series books 

Our Books

gent's fashions 1914
civil war day dress
hairstyles and headdresses
Evening Dress 1920-24
Hair Styles and Headdresses
Ladies Evening Dress of the Civil War Era
Hairstyles and Headdresses of the Civil War
Ladies Evening Dresses of the 1890s
Day Dresses of the 1890s
Turn of the Century Fashions

About The Vintage Dress Series library, fashion history resources
Published by Vintage Victorian

1893 evening dress THE VOLUMES, cover all aspects of an outfit from undergarments, gowns and outerwear to hairstyles, hats and jewelry, and are produced with the goal of providing a comprehensive aid to assist in the creation of accurately reproduced outfits. All of the illustrations are from original period publications, most from my private collection, with occasional additions from the libraries of others.

LADIES’ MAGAZINES flourished in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. During this time illustrations of ladies’ fashions petersen's, august 1862were beginning to be seen in abundance. These magazines and books are an invaluable resource, for both their editorial content and advertisements. Vintage Dress Series hair books include fashion forecasts, dressmaking hints, pattern descriptions and yardages, and “how-to” descriptions to complete the picture of how one might reproduce a period look.

VINTAGE DRESS SERIES BOOKS are filled with numerous images of vintage styles gathered from countless men period magazines and books. The images show the wide range of styles worn in any given period and should provide examples of an outfit suitable to anyone’s particular needs and tastes. Where available, the original text describing original color and trim selections has been included shoes 1890swith each illustration. Costume accessories, undergarments, jewelry, hairstyles, and fashion forecasts are also covered to create a complete picture of each era. My hope is that these volumes will prove to be a valuable resource on the bookshelves of vintage dancers, reenactors, Victorian enthusiasts, actors, film costumers, historians and designers.
 
A NOTE ABOUT VINTAGE DANCERS:
The Vintage Dress Series began cakewalkas a resource for vintage dancers, covering styles worn in the 19th and early 20th century ballroom, to help dancers create their own accurately reproduced outfits. Proper dress, and almost more importantly undergarments, influence movement. Wearing period ensembles adds another dimension to the recreation of period dance.
 
Some of the most popular eras covered in our books and online library:

  • The Regency, Napoleonic, or Federal-era (1785-1820) known for set dances with fancy footwork, the scandalous waltz, romance novels, and high-waisted neo-classical fashions
  • The Biedermeier-era (1820-30s) with the romantic waltz, fashions with puffed sleeves, full skirts, and wild hairstyles, and Queen Victoria as a fashionable young princess
  • The Crinoline or Civil War-era (1850s and 1860s) with the proliferation of dance manuals detailing polka & waltz variations, quadrilles & set-dances, danced by ladies in voluminous hoop-skirted gowns, and the royal courts in London, Paris, and Vienna having their portraits painted by Winterhalter
  • The Belle Epoque (1880-90s) with hoppy, skippy steps with whimsical names danced by ladies in 1880s bustles or 1890s puffed sleeved fashions, the age of US robber barons and American heiresses marrying into titles abroad
  • The Ragtime-era (1910s) with the exotic tango and steamy blues and ballrooms full of ladies in elaborately draped gowns in exotic colors, fashion efected by exotic influences and changes rapidly year to year with World War I ushering in a more liberated, modern, woman
  • The Jazz Age, Prohibition, or Flapper era (1920s), the age of ragtime the Charleston, short skirts & bobbed hair, post war freedon and excess

The primary focus of the Vintage Dress Series volumes draws its inspiration from these eras, with a particular emphasis on evening wear as formal balls are such an important component of a vintage dancers life. Visit my calendar page for a listing of period events, balls and workshops or The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers homepage for more information on period events. An upcoming ball or period pic-nic is the the perfect excuse for a new gown!

ragtime

Other Titles:

Masquerade and Carnival Knitting A La Mode Knit Two A La Mode

Vintage Dance Music, Dance Manuals, & DVDs:

Dancing by the Shore The Civil War Ballroom dance manual
dance instruction dvd Retutning Heroes Now Tango

Titles currently being developed:

  • Ladies’ Evening Dress of the Ragtime Era
    • Volume I (1909-1912)
    • Volume II (1913-1916)
    • Volume III (1917-1920)
  • Civil War Era: Headwear, Undergarments, Outerwear
  • Fancy Dress Costumes
  • Bathing Costumes
  • Fashions of the Bustle Era
  • Wedding Fashions
  • Gentlemen's Fashions


Vintage Victorian
P.O. Box 9, Nahant, Massachusetts 01908
e-mail: 
phone: (781) 49-WALTZ (781-499-2589)

© 2014, Vintage Victorian, All rights reserved

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available titles:

Vintage Dress Series:
Custom Tailoring Fashions 1914
Gentlemen’s Fashions
Ladies’ Evening Dress
Civil War Era
Hairstyles and Headdresses
Civil War Era
Hairstyles and Headdresses
Victorian, Edwardian &
Ragtime Eras
Day Dress of the 1890s
(for Ladies, Men and Children)
Ladies’ Evening Dress: from Harper’s Bazar 1891-1897
Turn of the Century Fashions: 1899-1905
(for Ladies, Men and Children)
Fashions of the Titanic Era: 1910-12
(for Ladies, Men and Children)
Evening Dress of the Early Jazz Age: 1920-1924
(for Ladies, Men and Girls)
Republications and Other Titles:
Masquerade and Carnival:
Their Customs and Costumes

(1892, reprint)
Knitting a la Mode, 1862-65
Knit Two a la Mode, 1860-63
Vintage Dance Music:
Dancing by the Shore
The Civil War Ballroom
Pugliese’s Dances for the Civil War Ballroom
Dance Instruction for the Civil War Ballroom
Returning Heroes
Now Tango:

now available
 
new-item

coming soon
 
coming soon

attend our ball
 
Nahant Dancers

last updated 10 apr 2014/csb