Notes on Recreational Dress

The goal: Make a “recreational dress” reflecting those worn in the Genesee Valley during the 19th century for GCVM’s Great Outdoors Weekend.

Epic Indecision: Local vs Quasi-Local vs General

Aka: What caused the major delay.

With starting this project 3 or 4 months ago, one would have thought I had plenty of time to complete it. One would be wrong. As I collected images of women in recreational situations, I discovered a wide range of clothing. Some, simply had their skirts pulled up with skirt lifters. Others wore shorter, above the ankle length skirts with either loose or fitted bodices. Still others wore attire more like gymnastic ensembles: short above the calf skirts with trousers brought in at the ankle and loose bodices. Narrowing images down to local, meaning the Genesee Valley, and distinctly hiking images, I narrowed my options. The images of what would eventually become Letchworth State Park, mostly stereoviews, showed women wearing shorter skirts, roughly above the ankle, with less skirt support for the 1860s images. Details are difficult to determine because of the scale and frequency of wearing shawls. Some appear to possibly have their skirts pulled up over a presumably durable petticoat. Much clearer images of women hiking at Satatoga Springs, approx 250 miles east, show calf length skirts paired with trousers.

I wanted to do a separate skirt with sacque type bodice or two different skirts to show both versions from images but did not have enough fabric. This meant I remained undecided until the weekend prior to the event I needed for.

Fabric Decision

I determined this ensemble had to be made from my stash because it was not a garment I planned to make and hadn’t planned for. If I had allowed myself to purchase fabric, I would have considered a linen because it was often recommended for travel attire or a tropical wool. Looking through my stash, I settled on a light weightwool/silk blend with a very narrow stripe in tan and white. The material is very smooth, being less likely to snag and durable. The light color has the benefit of not attracting ticks.

Cut and Making

The few textual references I have relate dresses for hiking with travel attire and walking dresses. My previous research found recommendations for cutting armscyes loosely for travel clothing. I opted to do the same for this dress.

The image from Saratoga Springs showed very full bishop sleeves. Following this, I cut full Bishop sleeves with a fitted wrist. While the fullness combined with looser armscyes created a very comfortable sleeve, I found they still pulled when reaching far forward or across the body due to the length. I added 3 inches to each sleeve, figuring full flexibility essential for hiking with a walking stick.

Again, taking from images, I cut the bodice a little fuller and gathered it into the waist. I did a jewel neckline, as shown in images. I feel this neckline is not the most practical or functional for hiking.

In Hindsight – Lingering Questions

This is a dress I wish I would have made in my twenties when I could have tested it, really tested it.

● Why a one-piece dress vs. sacque & petticoat? Rationally, I see an ensemble of a separate sacque and petticoat as sensible. In an urgent situation, the top or bottom could be removed, leaving the other. With a one-piece dress, this isn’t an option. This could be my twenty-something memories creating a picture of “hiking.”

● I lined the entire bodice with quality muslin. In hindsight, I regret this. The cotton combined with the wool makes this bodice far too substantial for comfortable wear in higher summer temperatures. It negates the purpose of the lightweight fabric. I wish I had done a partial lining. As it is, it is more suitable for a fall hike in this area. Though, given the shawls in some of the pre-Letchworth images, the visits to the falls may have been in the fall.

● After finishing the skirt and the majority of the bodice, I printed some of my reference images. This is when I noticed a detail I previously did not see on my phone: The bottom of three of the skirts has a wider band of something. These are not fashionable dresses, indicating this likely isn’t just decorative trim. Is it a wider hem tape? Is it something similar to hem facing but on the outside? My skirt has an interior hem facing and wool hem tape. (The lower right image may also have the same band going up the front of the skirt.)

If I do get a chance to wear this hiking, some additional accessories are needed. I have rubber over-shoes that fit my balmorals (which need to be re-soled before hiking in). An appropriate hiking stick is important to me. A straw hat would be an easy and logical option for me. But, I recently became aware of a quilted fabric hat that I am itching to make.