(I don't know quite how to categorize this one: a romanticized "shepherdess" done as a pink-and-chintz pseudo-18th-century costume worn over a very, very Edwardian corset. Click to enlarge the image.)
Skirt of chintz, with large flowers. Bodice and panier-drapery of pink nun's-veiling. Black velvet on sleeves and square-cut neck. Large hat trimmed with flowers.
Source: Masquerades, Tableaux and Drills. New York: The Butterick Publishing Company, 1906.
(Here’s a costume appropriate to the season, for anyone who looks good in gold!)
The bodice and tunic of golden satin, looped over tulle of the same shade; the tunic caught back and edged with a fringe of ears of corn, clusters of fruit of all kinds, and nuts; the bodice trimmed to correspond, and for the small sleeves a band of fruit and leaves; a wreath of ears of corn an fruit; ornaments of fruit. Attached to side a gold-coloured fan with a border of ears of corn; a cluster of fruit placed on the outside stick; in the hand either a bunch of corn or a sickle.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(This is one of those ideas that leaves me sputtering with laughter, especially the idea for the headpiece. Oh, for an illustration!)
White satin dress strung with all kinds of vegetables; black velvet bodice to simulate a saucepan, handles form the epaulettes to the sleeves; head-dress like the lid of saucepan.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(The "peculiar headdress" is presumably some version of the kokoshnik in this Anglo-American interpretation of Russian folk dress.)
A chemisette of fine cambric, neatly gathered and drawn round the throat with a frill; long sleeves of the same frill, and gathered round the wrist; a short-sleeved bodice of black silk, laced across the chest with gold braid; a peculiar headdress — a sort of half-moon of cardboard about six inches deep is covered with blue and red silk, and embroidered with beads; to the top is fastened a white gauze veil.
Source: Armstrong, Lucie. The Ball-Room Guide. London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co., c1880s.
(Not a costume of Van Dyke himself, but meant to represent the style of the dresses worn in his paintings, this is one of those hilarious reimaginings of a historical era with the general style worn over completely inappropriate Victorian underpinnings for a very peculiar silhouette.)
Full plain skirt; muslin apron, edged with pointed lace; bodice with revers; sleeves to wrist; hair in curls.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(This is a fantastic and bloodthirsty costume, with a snaky theme and a classic Greek chiton rather than the usual gown of the era. It may well still have been worn over a corset and bustle, though!)
Red or black veils, snakes entwined about bare arms, buskins like a huntress, rough chiton of brown, or black, or blood-coloured, girt with skins of snakes; other serpents bind their waists, and their garments are embroidered with snakes' eyes.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(National costume or folk dress of different countries were popular themes for fancy dress costumes. This outfit is remarkably similar to modern formal Scottish dress for men. It features loose hair and even reveals a few inches of bare leg. The "vest" referred to is a blouse or dickey, not a waistcoat; it can be seen under the jacket and plaid.)
Kilted skirt of Scotch plaid. White silk bouffant vest. Jacket of the principal clan color trimmed with black velvet, and scarf of the plaid goods. Cap of plaid.
Source: Masquerades, Tableaux and Drills. New York: The Butterick Publishing Company, 1906.
(This is really two separate ideas for the theme: either a "classic" fashion, probably meaning a chiton, or a standard period evening gown. With so little detail as to the decoration there's lots of room for imagination here!)
Short blue and white dress made of cashmere or soft silk in classic fashion, or in gauze or twill as an evening gown, with stars and spheres for ornaments; star-spangled veil.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(Back to the birds again. This outfit seems to require an enormous number of feathers, if the wings are even somewhat proportionate. I really wish there was a picture for this one!)
A yellow gown with cuirass bodice and cap of green feathers like a parrot's head, two long feathers forming the tail on the skirt the rest of the dress green satin, with wings at the side formed of feathers.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
(Back to Shakespeare: a fairy costume from The Tempest, conceived as female, though the character is often played as male or, nowadays, androgynous. This is a very classic fairy style, with wings, a wand, and a star on the forehead.)
Short white diaphonous tulle dress, with silver wand and silver gauze wings; hair floating on shoulders, confined by a silver band around the head, with star in centre; low full bodice and short sleeves.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.