2013 Art & Balloon Festival, August 30, 2013
Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 215
demonstrate versatility of 1800s fashion
Costume Ladies
I
n the mid-1800s,
women of social
standing were
faced with the
challenges of
traveling by horse and
buggy to events that
sometimes began at
midday and ran into
the night. Women
might travel several
miles in a small buggy
with their spouses to
spend an afternoon at
tea with friends. Then as the evening ap-
proached, a gala event would be planned
that required more formal attire.
Because space was limited, they couldn’t
always carry a wide variety of gowns
with them, so they learned to fashion their
clothing so that the addition, subtraction
or switching of a few key pieces would
turn dress day wear into formal evening
wear.
Sunday morning Dorothy Sellinger and
Linda Cox, known locally as the Costume
Ladies, gave a presentation of how wom-
en in the 1860s made the desired transfor-
mation from day to evening. In the course
of their talk, Cox assisted Sellinger in
getting dressed, first for an afternoon tea,
then for an evening ball.
Pictures by Nila Smith
Carroll Richards
welcomed visitors
into the Postville
Courthouse
The first pieces are all undergarments or foun-
dations. It begins with the chemise, which is set
off the shoulder for evening wear.
All of the clothing with the exception of the gloves
was made by Cox.
