Today’s post is less than the most exciting, but bear with me. My goal is to photograph the entire collection, and some of it is less than exciting.  I keep hoping for a nice, sunshiny day, so I can finish off this box of bodices and move to the next storage box- full length dresses!

So, we have three random accessories; a partial bertha, a black silk collar, and a silk velvet belt. I am not as sure of the dates on these as I am on full garments.

The bertha is made of silk taffeta, silk velvet, beads, and white silk organza. It is lined in more silk.

It is mostly machine sewn, with hand finishes. My stab at a date based on the style would be 1890s, but I could be very off. If you have insight (beading is someones specialty!), please comment below!

Here’s a black silk collar. Faced in more black silk. 1″ wide.

And a silk velvet belt! The front and back are not proportional. It closes at the side with hooks and eyes, and is boned with 6 bones. This could date from several different periods in the 19th century, based on materials and construction. I would hazard a guess of 1870s-90s, based on the type of boning and casing used, but once again, not sure!