Newer Additions to my Collection: 1814

It’s been a while since I started doing (and finished up) regular Fashion Forecasts here...and one corollary of that is that I’ve since acquired a lot more prints for any given year. Since the last time we looked at fashions in the year 1814 was back in 2010 (!), I thought I’d post some more prints from my collection...because, eye candy.

All prints are from the 1814 Ackermann’s Repository, with the original descriptions when I have them. Enjoy!

Let’s begin with a rather cozy looking Morning Dress for January, perfect for quiet days at home when it’s too beastly to venture out of doors. A button-front bodice fastened at the throat with a gold brooch, a ruffle-edged over-robe, and matching ruffle-edged cap complete the ensemble.

Ball Dress time! This February number features a white skirt topped with a pale aqua bodice (a look we’ve already seen this year) with aqua accents in the sleeves (note the puff of fabric in the cuffs) around the hem, and even on the slippers. The costume is completed with a gauzy lace scarf  or wrap and a charmingly simple bunch of flowers in the hair, as well as elbow-length kid gloves.

1814 is the last of the interesting years of ladies’ dresses as depicted in Ackermann’s; after this year I find them a bit on the dull side for several years. But this Walking Dress from February is anything but dull: I love the fawn-colored cloak edged with maroon ad a small capelet at the back, over a spencer of the same fabric. A maroon hat covered with a froth of feathers tops it all off.

Another Walking Dress with a cloak is up for March, but this one takes a leap into the dramatic: blue-gray edged with fur (sable?) and lined in scarlet cloth with a capelet/hood, tying at the throat with a matching ribbon. The dress underneath features a high neckline edged with vandyked lace, and the scarlet cap is ornamented with twists of lighter colored cloth and a rope-and-tassel trim. And the scarlet half-boots peeping out at the bottom are adorable.

Ruffles seem to be the order of the day for Morning Dresses; this one features rows of ruffles trimming the sleeves, cuffs, bodice, and neckline, as well as a cap consisting mostly of—you guessed it—ruffles. Only the hem isn’t ruffled: it is trimmed in a much more tailored fashion, with tongues of fabric punctuated with buttons. (April)

May’s Opera Dress is of plain cut and decoration (a quiet band of embroidery adorns the hem and cuffs), saving all the drama for a capelet of scallops of lace, tied at the throat with cords and tassels. The hairstyle is charming, a Psyche knot with lovelocks at the ears and back of the neck.

Another Walking Dress with a cape for May, this time of green edged with a deep flounce of white lace, a rather dashing military-style hat edged with green ribbon and a plume of feathers, and a scarf tied across the breast (which looks a tad awkward, but that may just be me.)

June’s Walking Dress is capeless, instead featuring a Pomona-green spencer decorated with little clumps of tassels down the sleeve. The front is filled with a flounce of ruffles; the skirt trimmed with rows of Vandyke lace. The bonnet is also ruffle-trimmed, with ribbons and flowers, and the red reticule makes a pop of color.

I do like this Full Dress from June, speaking of interesting and creative designs, and wish the front were visible. But the cut-away lilac overdress, the striped sleeves, the decorative details around the waist and the back of the bodice, and the floofy frilled neckline make this a very attractive costume.

Which dress did you like best?