Super Stellar Styles of the Civil War

Dear Diary, April 28^th 1863

            It has been two months but I still cannot believe that I, Sophie Marie Culpepper, am maid to the first lady of this beautiful country, Mary Lincoln.  Even in these tough times of war, her sense of style never ceases to amaze me. She and her friends have formal gowns with silk, lace, and baring necklines.  Their tea dresses are so detailed and beautiful, they are among my favorites. I dream of wearing these wonderful dresses, but the stark reality is that being a lowly maid such as my self I will never achieve the level of wealth it takes to acquire these dresses. So in this entry, I will tell you, my dear reader, the formal wear fashions of the wealthier ladies of my time.

            We will start with one day during tea…I was sitting in a corner and in walked Mary Lincoln herself in a gorgeous hoop skirt that flowed from her corseted waist.  Mary always wore a corset like practically all ladies of her time.  Her corsets were braced with fine whalebone.  The whalebone was only reserved for the wealthiest in the highest class while the lower classes or less wealthy people used steel. I however did not own a corset.  It makes me sad because I long to be a true lady and wear one of these important pieces of fashion during my time.  Her corset was very important because it helped her achieve the perfect fifteen-inch waist.  Then there was her metal hoopskirt that made her dress billow to a full eighteen-foot circumference.  Of course, the fabric on the dress was exquisite and expensive like most tea dresses were.  It was easily the most ornate in the room, which had filled up quickly after Mary’s arrival due to the ladies large skirts_.  The fabric was a robin’s egg blue with tiny pink rosettes everywhere.  Like most dresses of her time, the dress used simple colors that worked harmoniously together and were influenced by nature.  Mary’s detailed, formal, and beautiful dress was like most tea dresses from her time.

            Some of her most wonderful dresses were the ones she wore to dinner parties.  They had intricately made lace panels.  The flowers on the lace looked as if they could bloom off the fabric.  They also had bared necklines and arms with sophisticated jewelry.  All the dresses I have mentioned were in style for this time period and breathtakingly beautiful. I can only dream of wearing these dresses one day.

Sophie Marie Culpepper