This dress is modeled after an original dress in a private at the Met Museum that is attributed to Charles Frederick Worth:

Blue Silk Dress, Met Museum, 1868

The dress is made from bright blue corded silk (or faille). This particular fabric is actually cotton, and taught me a good lesson about fabric and dyes and why it cheap isn’t always a good thing! The original lot of fabric I got from a friend who had gotten it really cheap at an outlet store. It was great looking stuff! I made it into a Civil War era ball gown. Several years later I ran into what appeared to be more of the exact same fabric, which I also bought. With this additional yardage, I was able to make the 1869 style bodice, the elaborate back drape, and the apron style drape. However, after a couple of years the original fabric started to change colors in a very uneven way. The second lot of fabric – which appeared to be identical to the first in every way – retained it’s original color. As a result this outfit is currently unwearable. However I may attempt to dye it all to a uniform blue at some point in the future. I will have to pick off all the antique fringe to do that, but it is probably worth it on a dress that I took the time to do handmade buttonholes.