Reproductions can be made for actual wear by visitors or by first-person interpreters.
Late 18th c. girl’s dress, entirely hand-stitched for visitors to handle in a display or for a roleplayer to wear.
c.1818 wool pelisse with velvet trim, and batiste chemisette. Taken from Janet Arnold, Patterns of Fashion.
Detail of sleeve.
Reproduction bonnet based on an 1868 original in the collection of The Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, ME. Left: view of the top of the original. Right: view of the top of the reproduction. To mimic the dark elements of the pattern-woven straw of the original, the entire reproduction bonnet was first stitched with black silk ribbon.
Left: view of the front of the original. Right: view of the front of the reproduction. A less delicate lace was chosen to maximize the life of the bonnet, which was being shared by three roleplayers.
Left: view of the back of the original. Right: view of the back of the reproduction.
Reproduction gown taken from Janet Arnold, Patterns of Fashion, with chemise, corset, petticoat, and bustle. The gown itself has over 16 yards of hand-made trim and has a bodice, underskirt, overskirt, separate belt with a basque/peplum, and removable undersleeves.
Reproduction Federal period gown patterned from a dress in the collection of The Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, ME. The original is a striped taffeta silk, the reproduction is a synthetic taffeta.
Back view. The reproduction ensemble included a lawn chemisette with a frilled collar and a cap suitable for an older married woman.
1870 reproduction gown taken from Janet Arnold, Patterns of Fashion, with a chemise, corset, and petticoats.
While not silk for practical reasons, the fabric chosen still echoes the watered silk popular in the period.
