Back in May, my husband and I finally got to Tombstone, Arizona for the first time. We went for Wyatt Earp days, and it was such a blast! A long drive from Las Vegas, but we road tripped with our Airstream and made a two week trip out of it. It was absolutely fantastic, getting to explore Arizona.
When we first decided to go to Wyatt Earp days, we had many, many months before the event. There was no way we were going without dressing up! I could have worn the 1885 dress I wore to Calico, California, last year, but I had so much time before the event, I decided a new dress was totally doable. I settled on 1880 because Wyatt Earp went to Tombstone in 1879, and the famous OK Corral gunfight was in 1881. Also, I wanted to do a silk dress, because I didn't have one.
In planning the silk dress, I looked at sooooooo many extant dresses and sooooo many paintings and photographs and fashion plates. I saved them on a Pinterest Board called "1880ish Inspo", if anyone wants to browse. I settled on what is often referred to as a "dinner dress". It's not a "ball" gown, but is often of silk with ornate trimming, but with longer sleeves and a low neckline.