1830s-1840s-1850s Girls Dresses

One of our first commissions for 2025 is this collection of 1830s-1840s-1850s Girls’ try on clothing for Historic Arkansas.

These adapted girls dresses are made from 100% cotton and include a variety of youthful period appropriate calico prints. The ruffled trim on this pink calico 1830s ERA YOUNG GIRL’S DRESS is pinked rather than hemmed as would have been done during this era.

Each dress is fully open in the back and closes with a series of cotton ties to allow young history lovers of all shapes, sizes. and abilities to experience what it was like to dress like a child from the past!

1830s Era Dress for Girl age 10-12

Transitional Era Dresses for Girls ages 7-12

1840s Era Dresses for Girls ages 5 & 12

1850s Era Dress for a Young Child

1850s Era Dress for Girls ages 7-12

For more information about our adapted historical children’s fashions, try on clothing, or any of our custom made historical clothing, please feel free to contact us at info@maggiemayfashions.com

1820s-1830s-1840s cotton calico dress

One of our most popular Romantic Era dress styles is this work gown cut in an 1820s-1830s-1840s fashion. With a slightly wider neckline than our Work Woman dress, this gown features a loosely gathered front bodice over a fitted lining. The back of the bodice is contoured. The bodice is attached to the skirt via the waistband making this a practical, yet polished gown for daily wear. Best paired with our chemise, corded petticoat, and extra full petticoats. A period appropriate straw bonnet would finish the look beautifully! This gown will be added to our Romantic Era dress catalog Spring 2025!

For more information about this gown or any of our custom made garments, please visit our catalog or feel free to email us at info@maggiemayfashions.com for more details!

Girls’ 1840s-1860s Era Calico dresses

This three sweet little Ellie dresses were made for a museum client from cotton calico found in our curated reproduction print fabric catalog. Pictured over child size versions of our corded petticoats.

Our Ellie dress is a versatile and period appropriate dress for young ladies ages 4-12 and was a popular style from about 1840 through the late 1860s.

The Ellie dress closes in the back with either buttons or hook and eye closures. I semi fitted bodice on a fitted waistband makes this gown a good choice for growing girls. Tucks in the skirt add 2-3 inches of additional skirt length for height changes.

Made in period style, mothers over a century ago knew how quickly children grow and thus made clothing that could be adapted with little effort to the changing needs of their little ones!

For more information about our historical children’s fashions or to enquire about how to order a custom made gown, please visit our catalog or contact us at info@maggiemayfashions.com

1840s Era Christmas Dress

We made this 1840s era holiday dress for a museum in Kingsport, Tennessee. This gown is made from a lofty red plaid cotton flannel and is super warm and oh so festive!

This 1840s era gown has a fitted under bodice and features a wooden button front closure. The sleeves are semi fitted and the skirt is attached directly to the waistband. This gown is made in one piece for easy on and off!

We paired this gown with one of our naturally dyed cotton neckerchiefs to finish the look. One could add an apron for work or keep as is for day! This gown is a truly versatile late Romantic-Early Victorian Era silhouette!

This is a custom made gown. For more information about this style gown or any of our custom clothing, please feel free to reach out!

1840s Autumn Work Dress

1840s work dress

We made this lovely Young Lady’s Autumn inspired 1840s era work dress for Historic Exchange Place in Kingsport, Tennessee. We didn’t have quite enough fabric for a full dress so we got a little creative and added a complementary warm brown and mocha zig zag print to the hemline and cuffs. I think it worked out quite well, don’t you?

We added little decorative covered buttons to tie the contrasting hem and cuffs to the bodice. Using complementary prints is a great way to keep things interesting. So next time you find that perfect print but just don’t seem to have enough yardage, think about adding a second print! That’s what our ancestors did in the 19th century!

For more information about our Young Lady’s 1840s era Autumn work dress or any of our custom made historical fashions, visit our catalog or blog to find your next inspiration!

D.I.Y. 1830s-1840s Straw Bonnet

The size and shape of this narrow braid 3 end straw plait bonnet is based on an extant c. 1835 bonnet in the collection of the MFA Boston. This bonnet style was popular during the 1830s and 1840s and was worn in rural areas well into the 1860s. Best worn with ties or a hat pin.

Brim depth: 10 inches

Crown width: 5 inches

Front width: 9.5 inches

1840s-1850s Drawn Bonnet

Wanting to keep my millinery skills fresh, I recently put together two matching silk drawn (or shirred) bonnets. Inspired by an original in the Henry Ford Collection, I was intrigued by the hybrid construction of this particular bonnet.

Image courtesy The Henry Ford.

My 100% silk reproduction bonnet is constructed over a small buckram frame that sits at the back of the bonnet to provide structure, durability, and shape. The body of the bonnet is drawn over canes and hand stitched to the wired frame. The front of the bonnet around the face is “free” or structured solely by the canes.

A narrow matching ruffle is hand stitched to the interior brim of the bonnet and hand made rosettes accent each side. A vintage button sets off each of the rosettes. The interior of the bonnet is fully lined in cotton muslin.

These two bonnets are for sale in my shop. The are identical.

You can view more of our ready to ship garments in our shop.

For more information about these bonnets or any of our historical fashions, please visit our catalogs or email us for custom designed garments.

The 1830s-1840s Anne Dress

This Romantic Era dress is a modified version of our Brooks Dress and is inspired by two original gowns- one c. 1838 formerly in the Tasha Tudor Collection and the other c. 1835 in the collection of the Bunka Gakuen Museum in Japan.

Cotton Yoke front gown c. 1838. Image courtesy Augusta Auctions.
Silk gown c. 1835. Image courtesy The Bunka Gakuen Museum- Japan.

This transitional style gown features a yoked neckline and gathered front bodice. The bodice closes at center back with either buttons or hook and eyes. The fitted upper sleeve sits low on the shoulder and bellows out into a wide gathered lower sleeve that closes with a cuff. The sleeves are adorned with ruffles.

The skirt is attached to the bodice via a fitted waistband. This gown fits at the natural waistline and is hemmed to the lower ankle. Shown over a corded petticoat and standard petticoat (not included but recommended.)

Details: 100% cotton; partially lined; 132″ wide skirt; standard hem length- 38″; machine sewn with some hand stitched details

The Anne dress is one of our a custom gowns and can be ordered in your choice of fabric.* It is available in either standard sizing (see sizing reference below) or custom sizing (see our custom order form).**

You can place a custom order for this gown conveniently through this posting or over in our full shop!

Please note this is a CUSTOM ORDER gown. Please allow 3-4 weeks for completion. Custom Order items are filled on first come first serve basis. To avoid delays, please contact us to enquire about our current custom order turn around times.

*Pricing DOES NOT INCLUDE fabric. You need to purchase 7 YARDS of our reproduction cotton fabric to complete your order.

**Please use our CUSTOM MEASUREMENT form for non standardized sizing. Please submit your completed measurements to info@maggiemayfashions.com. Custom orders are NOT placed on the sewing calendar until measurements are received.