Ladies Outfits

Ladies, you will want to wear a long dress or skirt, but it doesn't have to be fancy or complicated.

Google Images and Pinterest are full of great photos to spark your imagination.  And if you're debating about buying fabric or a costume, keep in mind, you can always use your outfit again at Halloween or biography nights, adapting it over the years for different historical periods!

Our family will be making our outfits inexpensive by raiding our well stocked stash of dress-up clothes. 


I purchased a long skirt for a costume party that could easily have been made at home.  It is a single piece of fabric with a straight seem on one side and hemmed at the bottom.  The waist could be gathered by elastic or with a draw-string. 

You can make two skirts of coordinating colors and layer them for a fuller look; then you can switch the layers for a second outfit.  You could wear one to the party and the other to the battle reenactments if you wanted. 

thank you Lewis family for this idea

If you'd like, you can wear a hoop skirt.  You can make a simple one with just a couple hoops or you can order one on-line with as many as six!

see amazon (approx.. $25.00 for a 3 bone skirt) or most any on-line bridal or costume shop

Keep in mind, sitting with a hoopskirt is a little tricky; so you'll want to practice before you actually go out.   Here's a quick "how to" video. 

You could also use a ruffled slip like these square dance petticoats.  The one hanging in this picture, that I used at the boys' Civil War birthday party, was lengthened with a piece of muslin. 

I hope you will have fun planning your outfit.  It is not very often we modern ladies get to dress up, and the barn party is the perfect opportunity!  Don't let it become a burden.  I wore a long, full length jean skirt I already owned with a petticoat and a white apron to our last party; so just be creative!

The shorter petticoats on the floor are the perfect length for little girls!   (You can also get these on amazon.)

Check out this clip from Gone With the Wind to see a few gorgeous dresses!  See if it inspires you to dress up and dance the Virginia Reel.