Victorian bustle gown, princess cut

Stunning antique Victorian silk bustle gown, princess cut, ca. 1884. 

This is such a lovely romantic gown! Beautiful pastel colours, lovely fabrics and extremely well made. This is a serious bustle gown, the amount of padding that went under the bustle skirt to get the right silhouette was a LOT! In its days this would have been a very high fashion gown, not for everyday, and not for an 'ordinary' lady! The details are amazing and the construction is superb. The floral print fabric is a lovely linen / silk blend that has a beautiful drape but is stiff enough to keep the desired shape. It has a lovely colour with a pastel print in colours that come back in the gown, and a lovely subtle shine to it. The sleeves, front of the bodice and front of the skirt are made of smooth silk in lavender and pink.

The whole back of the gown from the shoulder to the bustle is pleated, and these pleats form the hourglass and bustle shape of the gown, and drape beautifully down the back. The slightly puffed sleeves are made of lavender silk, with cuffs of the floral fabric overlayed with two lace ruffles and a lavender silk ribbon, and decorated with pink and lavender bows. The same lavender silk is used for the front of the bodice. The front of the skirt is made of pink silk, which is again seen at the hemline, which is trimmed with a pink silk ruffle. At the back, in the neck there is a large pink and lavender bow with long streamers attached that flow down the bustle. The closure in the front is trimmed with a lace ruffle, the ruffle separates at the waistline and continues down both sides of the skirt.

The gown is in very good to excellent condition, not perfect, but few gowns have stood time like this one. There is one very small hole in the floral fabric, at the seam of the folded back part along the silk bodice front, pinhead sized and hardly noticeable. Some very minor fraying at the ends of some of the ribbon bow decorations, and in the skirt where it meets the waistline the step-in opening has been torn a little bit (the split that is supposed to be there is a bit longer now). There is a old repair there, not noticeable because it falls between the folds.

This gown is a tiny size! It has a waist of only 51 cms, bust 72 cms, hips are free.

The (new and cut to size) mannequin it is displayed on can also be bought, as it will be hard to find a (old) mannequin that is small enough for the dress. This would be an additional €50,-, please tell us in the comments at the end of your order, and be advised that shipping will be higher as it will be a large parcel with the mannequin!