The Upholstered Woman - Part II: Women's Fashions of 1880-1885 February 26, 2011

The prosperity of the middle and upper classes in Post-Civil War America, along with technological developments in machine sewing, weaving, lace making, and pattern drafting, created a fashion for elaborately embellished women's garments. Like the deeply tufted and carved furniture of the late Victorian era, dresses were closely fitted, draped with contrasting fabrics, and trimmed with a myriad of furbelows, including fringe, ribbons and braid, lace, faux flowers and pearls.