Our latest Becoming History costumes portrayed 1836 Texas, which meant Romantic Era gowns (1830’s) for myself and my daughter, and a William Barret Travis outfit (1836) for my son.
I even sewed the Republic of Texas flag to make a nice backdrop for our presentations, but this story is about my yellow gown.
Wanting a pioneer party dress of the era, I knew it would be rather fashionable while simple.
HOW WOULD A TEXAS PIONEER OBTAIN FABRIC AND FASHION NEWS?
In the 1830s settlements spread from Houston to San Antonio, centered around the San Antonio River and the Colorado River, both of which feed into the Gulf of Mexico.
The nearest city of culture was New Orleans, less than 500 miles away, primarily accessed by boat.
And from the city of culture, would come news of fashion, fabrics, and readily made gowns and accoutrements.
HOW COULD PIONEERS HAVE TIME TO DANCE, IF THEY WERE ALWAYS WORKING?
In all cultures in all lands, common people found time got entertainments, such as dance.
Even on February 22, 1836, William Barret Travis, commander of the Alamo, threw a ball in honor of George Washington’s birthday.
The next morning, Santa Anna arrived with his troops, beginning the siege of the Alamo.
1830s POPULATION EXPLOSION IN HOUSTON
General Sam Houston, who won Texas Independence, was elected the first president of the Republic in 1836.
The area where he captured Santa Anna soon bore his name, and slowly filled with a populace.
While only a dozen people lived in Houston in the new year of 1837, the population shot to 1500 within five months, as the Texas Congress convened in that new town in May 1837.
WHAT DID TEXIANS WEAR TO THE 1837 INAUGURATION?
The battle of San Jacinto was from the first observed as an anniversary, and its celebration by a ball at Houston on April 21, 1837, was an event of great social importance… On the completion of the capitol the next year, a ball was given in the Senate chamber. Dresses elegant in texture and design, comprising velvets, satins, laces, and mulls, were worn by ladies whose grace and beauty would have been admired in any assembly…Ladies and gentlemen…came in parties on horseback fifty and sixty miles…The ball tickets were printed on white satin, and a description of the San Jacinto ball, written by a participant, attests that it was marked by refinement becoming a society largely composed not only of good families but of many who bore names of distinction in their former homes. The music of violins, bass-viol, and fife heralded the grand entry with the air “Hail to the Chief,” and General Houston accompanied by one of the most distinguished ladies led the march. Being the President elect, he was of course the hero of the day, and his dress on this occasion was unique and somewhat striking his ruffled shirt, scarlet cashmere waistcoat, and suit of black silk velvet, corded with gold, was admirably adapted to set off his fine, tall figure; his boots, with short red tops, were laced and folded down in such a way as to reach but little above the ankles, and were finished at the heels with silver spurs. The spurs were, of course, quite a useless ornament, but they were in those days so commonly worn as to seem almost a part of the boots. The weakness of General Houston’s ankle, resulting from his wound, was his reason for substituting boots for the slippers then universally worn by gentlemen for dancing.” –Texian Women by Adele Briscoe Looscan
WHAT DID SAM HOUSTON WEAR FOR HIS 1841 INAUGURATION?
Known as a snappy dresser, Sam Houston intended to return to the presidency in style. Long before the election he ordered his inaugural outfit from French Chargé de Affaires Alphonse de Saligny. To be made of green velvet embroidered in gold, the suit would be complemented by a plumed hat and embroidered velvet cape. Startled, Saligny wrote, “It is in this strange outfit that the future Head of the Republic of Texas intends to take his seat in the Presidential armchair. –Austin Post
WHAT DID A TEXIAN PIONEER WOMAN WEAR TO THE 1837 INAUGURATION?
The costume described below was a young lady’s holiday suit at the capital, in 1837. A black silk dress with very full skirt reached to the ankles, a low-necked waist had long leg-of-mutton sleeves, tight fitting below the elbow, but puffed out very full at the arm-holes, a double shoulder cape of white embroidered mull called a Vandyke was trimmed with lace, and concealed the neck and shoulders. This out-door costume was completed by a pink satin bonnet, with brim of eight or ten inches projecting over the face, and a crown three or four inches high towering above the head. Close to the face inside was a double rushing of tulle, with minute bows of pink satin and sprigs of flowers interspersed. Fastened by a ribbon around the crown and hanging over the face was a white blond veil a yard wide and about a yard and a quarter long; this was elaborately wrought in flowers, all in white, and furnished at the lower end with a rich border. White silk stockings and black slippers were worn with this suit. A dress strangely out of keeping with the life in the woods, propriety seems to say, but feminine love of dress manifests itself wherever there are human eyes to see and admire. – Texian Women by Adele Briscoe Looscan
I love that final quote and that is the essence of my gown.
WEDDING GOWN COME AND TAKE IT FLAG
Admittedly dancing gowns would have remained packed away, if they weren’t used for other purposes.
The first battle of the revolution was in Gonzales in 1835, where the residents determinedly kept their cannon.
A wedding gown was used to make the infamous Come and Take It banner, which continues to be a symbol of Texas liberty today.
A YELLOW 1830S GOWN FOR A LAFAYETTE FAN
I portrayed Texas pioneer, Peggy Rabb, one of the Old Three Hundred, the first group of Americans to settle in Texas in 1824, who with her husband founded the town of La Grange in 1837, in Fayette County, both named after the Marquis de Lafayette.
Ancestors had fought with him in the American Revolution and the Rabb family brought this memory to Texas.
SIMILAR GOWN IN LAVENDER FOR CHARLOTTE BRONTE
For my daughter, who portrayed Charlotte Bronte, I replicated my style, with the addition of an organdy flower.
