Green Sleeves

 

…and green bodice, and green skirt… 😉

I love this Evening Dress from the April 1809 edition of La Belle Assemblée (which, curiously, is puffing a dress from the previous month rather than a future one—a mistake?) It’s so easy to assume that formal dresses in this era were all in white or pastels...and maybe they were, for young debutantes in their first or second season. But here is glorious, vibrant proof that they weren’t all so insipid.

The original description reads:

No. 2.—EVENING DRESS.  A round robe of green velvet, with antique boddice, and stomacher of blended gold and velvet. Short full sleeve, ornamented à-la-Spanish, to correspond. A plain gold lace placed round the bottom just above the hem, and also round the waist. A shade of Paris net across the back, edged with gold, and fastened on the shoulders with a gold or emerald brooch. A deep antique lace laid flat round the bosom and back, with a drawn tucker above. Hair confined in a gold caul behind and in full curls in front, with the Cleopatra diadem of emeralds and gold. Earrings, necklace, bracelets, and armlets to correspond. Shoes, amber or white satin. Fan of carved ivory. An occasional scarf, or shawl, of cream-coloured or white French silk, with gold or coloured embroidered body.

So…green velvet! Yum! Double yum on the elegant restraint in the trim, as well. I definitely see what is meant by an “antique boddice”—the bodice on this dress is reminiscent of an early 17^th century dress, with van dyke lace pointy stomacher and all. The diadem and the “hair confined in a gold caul” also reminds me of the ancient Mediterranean style known as a Phrygian cap. And while it’s not easy to see in the print, I’m tickled by the “shade of Paris net” fastened on the shoulders—rather like a superhero cape!

And one more note: do you know what the item at the left of the image is? I’ll give you a bit of a hint: we talked about them some time ago, right here on NineteenTeen (though this is certainly a fancier version of one than I’ve seen before.)

What do you think of this dress? I know I’m in love with it.

Mystery Object Unscreened

Thank you to everyone who played along with my Mystery Object last week. Alas, stumping most of you was not in the cards: the objects depicted in the Ackermann’s Repository print I posted are indeed firescreens.

So what is a firescreen?

In the days before oil burners and thermostat-controlled central heating, fireplaces were more or less it for keeping warm…and while you might want to sit as close to the fire as possible to stay toasty, having your face close to open flames could prove deleterious to the complexion…and if we go back to earlier centuries, when paste makeup was more common, sitting to close to the fire would cause one’s face to…well, let’s just say that streaks of melting makeup running down one’s cheeks is NOT an attractive look. And so the firescreen was invented, to protect one’s delicate visage from too much heat, but still allow sticking close to the fire.

But firescreens also became an opportunity, of sorts. Here’s the text that accompanies this Ackermann print:

The talent for drawing, which has been cultivated with so much success by some ladies of high rank, enabled them to decorate several articles of furniture in a very novel and tasteful manner. A laudable emulation in the higher circles caused this species of art to become a fashion, and an extensive variety of ornamental furniture has been produced by ladies; many articles of which have lost nothing even in comparison with the work of very clever professional artists.

There are few pieces of furniture so appropriate to the purpose of decoration in this style as the screen, either for the hand, or to be supported by poles: four designs for the latter are introduced in the annexed plate; they exhibit the proportions and forms applicable, which may be ornamented as the taste of the amateur may suggest, either by figures, landscapes, vases, flowers, or simply by Etruscan or embossed gold borders.

Small paravents [folding screens] would afford ample means for the exercise of the elegant talent of design, and be beautiful and useful appendages to the drawing-room.

So there you have it: when handsome young men pay calls on days when there's the least bit of chill in the air, you make sure there's a cracking good fire in the drawing room...and then make sure that one of the firescreens you painted with an attractive prospect of the seashore at Brighton, drawn from memory, is in prominent view. Thusly can you protect your delicate complexion and demonstrate your exquisite talent and taste, all at the same time. Sounds like a reasonable idea to me!

Thanks for playing along with my Mystery Object. :)