Kristina Harris - Victorian Fashion in America: 264 Vintage Photographs

c.1855. A lady in a fashionable gown with dropped shoulders. ( CDV .)

c.185558. The sleeve design and tiered dress on this womans skirt were at the height of fashion at this time. ( CDV .)

c.185658. Signed For Mrs. I. Gallup, this photo shows a man in typical everyday attire. ( CDV .)

c.186062. Mrs. Sarah J. Hatch, quite a fashionable lady, carrying her new-style hat (not a bonnet, which she would have worn a few years before). Her skirt is quite full and has a rounded waist, and she wears a paletot jacket with pagoda sleeves. Notice her dangle earrings. ( CDV .)

5 & 6. c.1861. By the 1860s, off-the-shoulder dresses were considered unhealthy and vain for children, but this girls full skirt is definitely from the 60s. Her dress shows much attention to detail: notice the intricate puff sleeves, the pleating on the bodice, the trimmed pockets, and the general harmony of design. ( CDV .)

c.186165. This woman wears a typical indoor headdress for married ladies. ( Manchester, Bro. & Angell. 73 Westminster St., Prov. R.I. CDV .)

c.186166. A woman wearing a snood (a decorative hairnet) in her hair. ( Adolph Westphals Photographic Gallery, 148 West Randolph Street, Chicago. CDV .)

c.186166. A typical young lady of the era, wearing a fashionable but very modest dress. ( Mrs. J. A. Reed, Photographist, Morris, Ill. CDV. )

c.186166. Though this womans dress is modest, it does follow the correct lines of the era. ( Joseph Even, Photographer, Morris, Ill. CDV .)

c.1860s. This little boy is very fashionably dressed in striped stockings and a slim-cut dress trimmed with white braid. ( San Francisco Gallery, (Buchtels Old Stand,) W N. Towne, Artist, Cor. First & Morrison Sts., Portland, Ogn. Cabinet card .)

c.1860s. The woman wears a simple dress and hat of the period; the men wear the clothes of working men. ( Tintype .)

c.186165. Aunt Fanny Sims in the simple attire many American women were forced to adopt during the Civil War. Her unadorned dress and overjacket indicate she was of little means. ( CDV .)

c.186166. This simply dressed young womans hoops appear to have been thrown forward by the photographers headrest stand. ( Rankin & Co.s. Cartes de Visite Rooms, 231 & 233 Central Avenue, Cincinnati. CDV .)

c.186166. A man with well-worn shoes and a printed vest. ( CDV .)

c.186166. A young woman with a rare hint of a smile. Her dress is very simple, but follows fashionable lines. In her hair she wears a snood. ( Rankin & Co.s. Cartes de Visite Rooms, 231 & 233 Central Avenue, Cincinnati. CDV .)

c.186364. In this photograph taken about the time cabinet cards first appeared, a couple wears conservative, almost old-fashioned clothing. ( Cabinet card .)

c.1864. Mrs Davis in a white flounced evening dress with a wide scooping neckline and an overskirt. Her sleeves feature unusually wide flounces of lace. ( CDV .)

c.1864. Note the sleeves on this womans dress, with all the interest at the elbows. She also appears to have a Civil War-related belt buckle. The photograph was taken in Canada. While Canadians certainly took interest in (and some even fought in) the Civil War, this woman may be a temporarily transplanted American. ( D. Campbell, Photographer, Goderich, CW. CDV .)

c.186465. Although this womans hairstyle is indicative of an earlier era, her dress, with its relatively slim sleeves, high neckline, and full skirt, is very much in style. This is a c.1920s30s copy of an authentic daguerreotype. ( Gelatin print .)

c.1864-65. A simply, but well-dressed, woman. Notice her full sleeves that fit only at the wrist. ( From E. L. Johnsons Photograph Callery, Goderich, C.W CDV . )