This won't be very helpful, but... The sacques are all roughly the same size as the dress bodices from the same period. Men's shirts from the same period are measurably larger. Since everything is from one family, one could assume that the sacques were worn by the Reed ladies.
Link: www.flickr.com/photos/workroombuttons/sets/72157627724105088/detail --- On Thu, 9/22/11, Laura Rubin <rubin.lau...@gmail.com> wrote: I agree that these look like men's shirts, with the exception perhaps of the one with the neck ruffle. That one looks like a "habit shirt" as described briefly by the Cunningtons in the History of Underclothes. That would put it in the early 1820s, IIRC, at any rate the high fashionable waist could account for the shortness of the garments. They still look like men's underclothes to me, though now I'm curious to see what other garments you're looking at for comparison. -Laura _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
