Mary Lincoln's Fashions

[LincolnToddFan]

Eva., this is simply wonderful...great info, delicious details! I can't imagine that MTL was thrilled to hear herself described as someone "with the well-rounded proportions of a wholesome little Western matron" but it sounds like she more than held her own at these balls and receptions!

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks Roger, Laurie, and Toia! (I'm glad it was worth it to dig all out a second time - but it's summer break anyway.)

Just to add: I came across some sites that decared this as Mary's second inaugural gown:
   
Not true, Mary wore it during the Washington winter social season in 1861–62. It was made by Elizabeth Keckley whom Mary first met and hired the morning after the first inauguration (see here: http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...age-3.html ).

As for the $2,000 price tag, the oldest mentioning I found was in the NRTA (National Retired Teachers Association) JOURNAL of Jan./Feb. I968: "She was extravagant, though, paying $2,000 for an Inaugural gown."

[Eva Elisabeth]

There's also a description of the dress in the photo Roger posted here:
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...d-492.html
In August (16-23) 1861, Mary made a trip to Long Branch, where on the 22nd she attended at a grand ball at the Manison House (according to the NY Herald of Aug.23, 1861) "wearing an elegant robe of white grenadine, with a long, flowing train, the bottom of the skirt puffed with quillings of white satin, and the arms and shoulders uncovered, save with an elegant point lace shawl. She wore a necklace and braclets of superb pearls, a pearl fan, and a headdress of wreathed white wild roses." (Wayne Temple in "The M. L. Enigma" states it's certainly the dress in "Roger's photo".)

[BettyO]

Found this fascinating article in an Old Rail Splitter -

http://railsplitter.com/?page_id=699

   

Of course, here is Mary wearing the dress for Comparison -

   

One thing that I've noticed is that the lace bertha (wide collar) has been replaced here with fringe - if this is the original dress.... It is not known if this dress is still in the family's hands to this day -

---

Also found this beautiful necklace which Lincoln gave to Mary during their tenure in the White House:

   

It and a lot more are located at this site:

http://www.pinterest.com/judah55/lincoln...spirators/

Also Mary's "Mourning Suite" -- really rather gaudy for mourning - but it is beautiful - and according to the site, purchased at $350.00 and worth about $24,000 today.

   

http://gemsaboutjewels.blogspot.com/2011...ms_10.html

[RJNorton]

(07-21-2014 06:15 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  As for the second inauguration, the ball was held on March 6, 1865, two days after the actual swearing in. The Smithsonian Magazine wrote that a $10 ticket would admit three people to the ball, which was held at the Patent Office Building (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery). 4,000 people attended, and danced quadrilles, waltzes and Virginia reels. Mrs. Lincoln, with jasmine and violets woven in her hair, wore a white satin off-the-shoulder gown.

As far as I know there are no photos of Mary wearing her second inaugural gown. If the dates in Lloyd Ostendorf's The Photographs of Mary Todd Lincoln are accurate (and I think there may be some question on this) there is a gap from 1865-1869 during which there are no known photos of Mary. According to Ostendorf's research the last photo of Mary as First Lady was taken in 1864:

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for the info on and pics of the jewelry, Betty - love such! (Unfortionatelly the links don't work on my phone, sound so interesting...). As for the dress, I, too wonder "if" - to me it somehow looks too big/wide in the waist/upper part (corsage) - the lady holding it would fit in it twice...

[BettyO]

Thank you, Eva!

I've also found this wonderful article regarding the costume designer on the set of Spielberg's Lincoln who designed Ms. Field's wonderful Mary Lincoln wardrobe - Being on set during the filming, I saw some glorious costumes which were part of her work - one in particular stands out, which was a beautiful rust colored silk worn by the very congenial and approachable actress who played Mrs. Keckley -

http://popstyle.ew.com/2012/11/09/lincol...lly-field/

[L Verge]

I agree with Eva that the dress purported to be still in existence and shown in the Railsplitter is not Mrs. Lincoln's. I think it was a knock-off from a later designer, or even a stage dress in some production. The dress is too large - and take into consideration that, if worn by Mrs. Lincoln, it went over a corset, which would have made her waist even tinier.

I can't open the link with the mourning jewelry, but that doesn't look right either - especially the size of the earrings. And, I would love to know what type of backing they have 'cause they sure look like it would be posts (which did not come along until the 20th century).

[Anita]

Mary frequented health spas/mineral springs in the US and Europe. Did she wear any casual clothing in the pools and baths set aside for women?
Black bathing costume perhaps?

[Eva Elisabeth]

That's a very interesting question, Anita - 19th century bathing fashions and customs! (Most likely it was inappropriate for women to swim - thanks God I was not born back then.) I can't help it, your question made me instantly think of a black burkini:
http://www.vetements-femme-voilee.fr/en/...blanc.html

[Gene C]

Oh my goodness, you can see her ankle.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Maybe the mehndi (henna tatoo) washed off:
   

[Donna McCreary]

(06-16-2014 10:18 PM)LincolnToddFan Wrote:  Anita you read my mind. I was wondering the same thing! I think I remember someone-was it Louise Taper? having one of MTL's shoes in a private collection.

She had small hands, her feet almost certainly were too.

I was on online looking at a collection of her dresses and her jewelry. I was astonished how tiny she really was...I always assumed that she was chubby and overweight. But she had a lovely physique!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIEE59aZzKw

I was in Springfield last week, and Dr. Cornelius and I had a discussion about the coral necklace and ear rings. Did they really belong to Mary? Or were they gifts from Mary to one of her nieces? When in Europe, Mary purchased coral pieces for a couple of her sisters' daughters. Since the coral pieces came to the museum through one of those nieces, we will never know for sure if Mary actually ever wore them. Personally, I think they are too plain for Mrs. Lincoln, but perfect for a young lady in Springfield.

---

(06-18-2014 03:23 PM)Anita Wrote:  Thanks LincolnToddFan. I enjoyed the youtube video on Mary's jewelry. Many pieces I haven't seen.

Here's the photo I found on Pinterest with the associated website cited as historicalattractions.com

If that dress is truly a Mary Lincoln gown (which I do not think that it is based on its history) it has been altered greatly. This style is 1870's - and ML wore nothing but mourning after her husband's death.

---

(06-18-2014 08:15 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  The diamond heart necklace is nice, very youthful. Found these on a Smithsonian website:
Mary Lincoln’s gold lorgnette partially open:

Mary Lincoln’s enameled gold bracelet-watch, made by V. John Magnin & Guédin, Geneva:

Mary Lincoln wore this silk taffeta two-piece dress in 1861, with an evening bodice as the top piece. The pattern of black stripes and purple flowers is woven into the silk. Later in the 19th century, the original evening bodice was replaced with this daytime bodice made of fabric taken from the skirt:

The dress in this photo was given to Mary's cousin, Elizabeth Todd Grimsley in September 1861. "Lizzie" brought it to Springfield and gave it to her daughter. The dress was altered by Lizzie's daughter in the early 1870's. Since then, the waist line was changed as it passed to another generation. Members of the Grimsley family continued to wear this dress to historical parties and DAR meetings until the 1950's.

---

(07-26-2014 09:06 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Found this fascinating article in an Old Rail Splitter -

http://railsplitter.com/?page_id=699



Of course, here is Mary wearing the dress for Comparison -



One thing that I've noticed is that the lace bertha (wide collar) has been replaced here with fringe - if this is the original dress.... It is not known if this dress is still in the family's hands to this day -

---

Also found this beautiful necklace which Lincoln gave to Mary during their tenure in the White House:



It and a lot more are located at this site:

http://www.pinterest.com/judah55/lincoln...spirators/

Also Mary's "Mourning Suite" -- really rather gaudy for mourning - but it is beautiful - and according to the site, purchased at $350.00 and worth about $24,000 today.



http://gemsaboutjewels.blogspot.com/2011...ms_10.html

The "Mourning Suite" is not a mourning suite at all. This collection was sold during the Old Clothes Scandal. It is one of the few things that did sale. Currently, it is owned by a museum in Boston.

[Anita]

(07-28-2014 05:01 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  That's a very interesting question, Anita - 19th century bathing fashions and customs! (Most likely it was inappropriate for women to swim - thanks God I was not born back then.)

It appears Mary had bathing costume options. She read "Godey's Lady's Book". I found this on http://www.victoriana.com/library/Beach/...gSuits.htm

    Mid-19th Century:

In the mid-19th century bathing dresses covered most of the female figure. These garments were highlighted in Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1864. the long bloomers exhibit the influence of Amelia Bloomer’s innovative ideas for women’s clothing. The ”turkish” pants and “paletot” dresses are made from a heavy flannel fabric which would surely weigh down the swimmer.

On the same site is this description of the " BATHING MACHINE-
At ocean resorts where the water was very shallow near the beach, people undressed in little houses on wheels, which were drawn out into deep water by horses and hauled back to the shore when the bath was finished. At the larger resorts hundreds of these carts were seen in the water at a time. The broad wheels hardly made an impression on the firm, white sand of the beach.

The bathing machine allowed a modest Victorian woman to spend the day at the beach in complete privacy. After the horse would haul the cabana into the ocean, the 19th century woman would change from her layers of petticoats and dress into another layer of swimwear. Later a hood was added to the contraption to allow the female in a soaking wet flannel dress to emerge from the water unseen."

[LincolnToddFan]

According to James Cornelius on the youtube site, Mr. Lincoln purchased the heart shaped diamond for his wife on April 29 1862, which indicates it was probably meant to console her in the aftermath of the death of their boy Willie which had occurred eight weeks previously.

However, I have never seen any photos of Mary wearing the beautiful necklace. She wore mourning for a year after Willie died, and after the assassination she never wore anything BUT mourning.

Does anyone know if she ever wore the heart? Are there any photos?