This is my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Foster Ethell. The photograph for her CDV was taken in Cumberland, Ohio, during the 1860s. I wish the top part of the photo had not been smudged, since it makes her face hazy. Note the tasseled belt at her waist and the bolo-style tie at her neckline. I believe she [...]

This woman is wearing a dress with gently gathered (rather than fitted) bodice. The front buttons are decorative. She appears to be wearing a snood.

This photograph was probably taken in the mid-to-late 1860s. Note the Garibaldi blouse with the Zouave jacket over top. The skirt is not as full as those in the early 1860s. I love the simple trimming of the skirt.

This young lady wears a silk gown (note the sheen) with a beautifully ruched bodice, neatly tailored yoke with piping, and a black tie at the neckline. Lace trims the cuffs. Notice this lady’s short haircut.

This is a picture of “Betsy Low” taken in 1866. Betsy’s plain day dress appears to be of a serviceable cotton with a belt at the waistline and buttons down the center front of the bodice.

Here is an older woman dressed in a light gingham gown with a fan-front bodice. She has full cloak sleeves.

An older lady in saque and bonnet, ready to visit friends.

This lady looks like she is ready to go visiting in her heavy cape and pretty bonnet!

Here is the beautiful Queen Marie-Sophia of Naples in the mid-1860s. Her cape is beautifully trimmed, and I love her simple snood.

This lady wears a plain dress, but notice the brooch at the neckline. This could be a mourning outfit (no white collar or cuffs), and the brooch could contain the hair of the deceased (a very common practice). This lady is wearing a snood.