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Can you wear the Cassandra Stays for decades before or after 1760-1780?

We get it. Some people love making stays, and some people don’t. Even if you are someone who loves making stays, they are time intensive, and relatively expensive to make. So it’s very tempting to make one pair of stays that can work for a wide date range. Not surprisingly, lots of people have asked us…

Can you wear the Cassandra Stays for dates other than 1760-1780?

We’ve dated the Cassandra Stays pattern to 1760-1780 because that was the date range of the extant stays we based the pattern on where we were absolutely confident in the dating of the stays. However, we have been very cautious in our dating, so the Cassandra Stays are definitely plausible for decades before 1760, and about 15 years after 1780, for those who preferred a more old-fashioned fit and silhouette for their clothes.

Wearing the Cassandra Stays under 1730-50s outfits:

There are numerous examples of stays that are dated to earlier than 1760 which have similar pattern pieces and boning layouts to the Cassandra Stays, such as these examples:

Woman’s Corset (stays), France, circa 1730-1740, Silk plain weave with supplementary weft-float patterning

Corset (Stays), 1740–60, American, linen, leather, whalebone, Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Jason and Peggy Westerfield Collection, 1969, 2009.300.3330a–d

Corset (stays) with green thread trimming, ca. 1755

Spanish Stays, ca 1750

Stays of violet taffeta dated 1750-60, featured on page 110 of Stays or a Corset, Narodni Muzeum, Czechia

However, we’re not entirely confident that the dating on all of these stays is accurate. We were not able to examine them in person or see patterns taken from most of them, and some of them have very limited information available. Because of this, we chose not to rely on them as absolute evidence this style of stays was worn in earlier decades.

Of the stays I showed above, the final pair, of violet taffeta is very well researched and the date range is probably accurate. Stays, or a Corset? includes a pattern for the stays, and it is very similar to the Cassandra Pattern. The primary difference is that the seam lines in the violet taffeta stays are straighter than those for the Cassandra.

If you do want to use the Cassandra Stays patterns for 1730s-50s costuming, you can make it shape your body so it more closely resembles earlier stays by:

Wearing it without the bust rail. The bust rail is a very late 1760s-onward feature.
Wear it with a front busk to create a flatter, straighter front line, typical of earlier decades.
If you could plausible go with either the Curvy Fit or the Straight Fit, choose the Straight Fit: the silhouette of earlier stay patterns is straighter, with less curvature to the seams, and less waist compression.
Wear View B with the optional stomacher. The stomacher will flatten the front silhouette.

Wearing the Cassandra Stays under 1780s & 90s outfits:

The date range given for the Cassandra Stays is when this style of stays was most fashionable. Stays like the Cassandras continued to be worn throughout the 1780s and 1790s by less fashionable women. This includes those who preferred a more old-fashion silhouette (often older women) and by poorer wearers who could not afford to update their stays. So wearing them for 1780s and 90s is totally accurate, as long as you’re not aiming for high-fashion!

However, as Jenni amply demonstrates below, it is entirely possible to achieve a very high-fashion, 1780s prow-front silhouette with the Cassandra Stays:

How did we do it? First, we fitted her Cassandra Stays so that they were a little snug in the bust. This means they can be worn laced over a stomacher with the lacing in an V shape, to achieve a very 1770s and earlier silhouette. For a 1780s silhouette they are worn without a stomacher, with the lacing fully closed except at the very top, forcing the front into the typical ‘prow-front’ curve. Boom! Two totally different fits in one pair of stays.

View B Stomacher, Cassandra Stays thedreamstress.com

The Cassandra Stays Sew-Along: Making the View B Stomacher with historical materials

Published by The Dreamstress

Previously on The Cassandra Stays Sew Along:

Today’s Cassandra Stays sew-along post is a quick, easy one.

If, like me, you’re making View B, but with historical materials, you need to think about how you’re going to finish the back of your stomacher. You don’t want it to just be buckram. that wouldn’t be very nice!

Lining the Stomacher: Option A

One way to finish the stomacher would be to sew and assemble the stomacher just like the stays, and then add a floating lining at the end.

You can absolutely do that, and it’s the best method if you are hand-sewing your boning channels. However, I prefer a different method.

Lining the Stomacher: Option B

I like to line my stomachers before I sew in the boning channels, and sew the boning channels through all layers of the stomacher, including the lining.

If you are smart you will cut out your lining with all the other stomacher pieces:

And baste all your layers together as one:

If, like me, you had a little bit of brain fog and forgot to do that, don’t worry, you can just pin your lining on:

Mark a guide boning channel with chalk (the yellow line), and sew your first boning channel line from the wrong side, just as you did with the rest of the stays.

Then use that as a guide for all your other channels. Don’t forget that the stomacher takes wider boning, so your channels will not be the same size as the stay body channels!

And there you go! Pretty channels from front and back, all ready to insert the boning and then bind!

Perfect timing too, because I completely used up a spool of thread…

Rate the Dress: 1860s Pastel pink and bold black

Published by The Dreamstress

I had this week’s Rate the Dress all picked out, and the post written for the dress part. All I had to do was add in the ratings from the last Rate the Dress.

And then I discovered I’d already posted the frock I’d picked for this week!

So, back to the drawing board, which is why this post is a bit late.

Last week: A very-fitted 1880s dress in cut velvet

Ooooh, last week’s dress was divisive. Some of you loved the bold pattern and ‘sleek’ silhouette, and thought it was ‘delectably severe’. Others could not get past the pattern placement on the bust (personally I love it when Victorian dresses do that, because it’s such a excellent illustration of how perceptions of ‘good’ placement change!), and thought it somehow both ‘dolorous and loud’, with a ‘dismal’ colour scheme.

If nothing else, there’s something to be said for a dress that evokes very strong opinions!

The Total: 7.4 out of 10

Not a single person gave the dress a rating of 7.4 out of 5, so sometimes the average really does not reflect the predominant sentiments in regards to an outfit!

This week:

Last week quite a few of you didn’t care for the dark colours, and the week before some didn’t care for the bold, clashing colours, so this week I’m seeing if pastels are more popular. Since my first pink choice has already been used, here’s the standby:

Pink Silk Moire Evening Dress, early 1860s, Fashion Museum Bath

This early 1860s evening gown is made of pink silk moiré, trimmed with black velvet, blond and black lace (probably machine made), and sheer silk. It is probably in two parts, with a seperate bodice and skirt. The skirt is tightly gathered in to the waist with tiny pleats. There is slightly more fullness at the back of the skirt than the front, as fashion transitions from the bell shaped hoop of the 1850s to the elliptical shape of the 1860s. The bodice sits off-the-shoulders, creating the sloped shoulder silhouette that was fashionable at the time. The neckline is framed with a shallow V-shaped ‘berthe’ in velvet ribbon and lace. The lace trim of the berthe merges with the lace ruffles of the short sleeves. The bodice comes to an exaggerated point at the waist, and is finished with narrow piping.

Pink Silk Moire Evening Dress, early 1860s, Fashion Museum Bath

This dress has a hint of the frou-frou of the late 1850s/early 1860s in the layers of delicate blond and black lace that frame the ribbon bertha. At the same time the striking stripes that frame the hem anticipate the bold, graphic decorations popular in the mid-1860s.

Pink Silk Moire Evening Dress, early 1860s, Fashion Museum Bath

This dress does, admittedly, have a very stark contrast between the pink silk and the black velvet trim. However, pink and black are a very classic colour combination.

The pink moiré fabric and harsh black lines are softened by an overlayer of delicate gauze, to which the black stripes are stitched. The overlayer would have added movement and interest as the dress was worn, particularly if worn for dancing.

Pink Silk Moire Evening Dress, early 1860s, Fashion Museum Bath

What do you think? Is this pink and black confection just the thing for the belle of the ball? Can it at least beat the rather lacklustre ratings of the last few weeks? Or is it too, not to your taste?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment. Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting. It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5. I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.