Shawl We Dance?**

 Another stunner from La Belle Assemblée! This one is dated May 1810, so was likely published in April of that year.

The text reads:

ENGLISH COSTUME.

No. 1.—Evening Shawl Dress.

A rich Paris-brown French silk shawl robe, with short full sleeves, made to sit very much off the shoulders; worn over a white satin body with long sleeves. The hair divided on the crown of the head, curled in ringlets in the neck behind, and on the right side of the face, with a small bunch of curls on the left side of the head; a band of diamonds, or coloured stones (with a cornelian clasp or brooch), is worn round the head; diamond earrings; Persian scarf of green silk; white satin shoes; and white kid gloves.

Aside from general bemusement at the description of an “English costume” made up of Paris-brown French silk, what do we have here?

In the early nineteenth century (well, before then too), shawls woven or silk and/or kashmir wool in India and elsewhere in Asia and imported to Europe were prized indeed by fashionable women. The plates in the French Journal des Dames et des Modes in particular contain many depictions of beautiful shawls. So prized, indeed, were these shawls that it became a bit of a “thing” to make dresses out of them (and later, from fabric that had been made to look like a shawl.)  They tended to be quite large, so this was not as silly as it initially sounds; with the slim profile of Regency-era dresses, it was quite doable, as can be seen here at right in this portrait of Empress Joséphine by Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, ca. 1808, from the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire at Palais Massena, Nice, France.

So what about our Belle Assemblée example? It’s a fairly straightforward design: the ends of the shawl, with its deep paisleys, are used to decorate the lower edge of the skirt. I like that the fringe edge was utilized, as you can see around the very bottom of the hem. I’m guessing that the shawl’s selvages form the trim up the front and around the bodice. As this dress is made to be worn over a bodice (white satin, in this case), less fabric has to be used.

And may I just say that her hairstyle may be one of the prettiest I’ve seen in any fashion plate? Simple and charming, though using a diamond necklace as a headband may be anything but “simple!” 

What do you think of today’s confection?

Oh...speaking of “prized” indeed, I’m happy to announce that Evergreen is a finalist in the Young Adult category of First Coast Romance Writers’ National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award contest.

 

 

 

**This is, of course, not a ball dress or at all suitable for dancing. But I couldn’t resist the pun. 😊

Accessories, Part 12: Wrapping up Shawls (see what I did there?)

Now that I've gotten that out of my system... ☺

I’m doing something a little different in this installment on Regency accessories: bypassing the images from fashion prints, lovely as they are, and looking at an example of two of the real thing.

These are a pair of 19^th century shawls that I own. Alas, I don’t have an exact date for either, but the height of popularity for shawls like this peaked in mid century. Unfortunately, I also have no idea where they might be from. Originally shawls of this design, with their distinctive teardrop-shaped boteh designs (boteh means “shrub” in Persian), came from Asia, especially the Kashmir region, where they were woven from the warm, silky hair of goats, first wild, then as demand grew, domesticated. They soon became so popular across Europe that European manufacturers began to create their own “Kashmir” shawls. The best of these were manufactured in the Scottish town of Paisley, which in turn lent the name we know today to the design.

Both of these shawls are made of a fine wool; the dark one is especially smooth. The undecorated parts of both shawls are twill-woven.

The cream-colored shawl, with its designs of bluish-green, red, gold-brown, and black, is square, measures 66 inches along a side. Does it perhaps remind you a little bit of this one?

Or this one?

The dark shawl is definitely not in as good condition as the cream-colored one--it's splitting in places, mostly in the undecorated area in the center-- and had its fringe chopped off at some point. But the pattern of the weave is gorgeous; with the careful placement of its six colors (mostly red and orange with bits of black, green, cream, and light blue) it looks more like dozens of colors. This shawl, also square, is a bit larger than the other, measuring 70 inches on a side (it's folded into quarters here.)

 

This one is called to mind...though I suspect that the darker color palette on this shawl means it dates slightly later to the Victorian era, when darker colors were more fashionable.

I hope you liked a quick look at the "real thing."  We'll be moving on to an different Accessory sometime soon...

Accessories, Part 11: More Scarves and Wraps

We’re back for another installment in our fashion series on NineteenTeen focusing not on dresses and gowns (gorgeous as they are) but on the little things that complete a fashionable ensemble—hats, shoes, gloves, purses, parasols, and other accessories.

Our accessory of the week is the scarf or shawl, a particular favorite of mine (you don’t want to know how many scarves I own!) I’m not including fitted wraps or mantles (basically, colder weather wear) in this survey—we’ll look at those at a later date. In this era of no central heating, the shawl was a ubiquitous—and needed—garment. Ladies made a virtue of necessity by turning it into not only a fashion statement, but also a status indicator via expensive imported shawls from India, of silk and cashmere.

We’ll be seeing examples from 1822 through 1829. Look for lots of images rather than commentary, though I’ll try to supply original text if I have it—the point is to be able to examine multiple examples of each item. Images are drawn from my collection of prints from Ackermann’s Repository. Happy accessorizing!

Full Dress, January 1822, Ackermann’s Repository

Full shawl with decorative edging—embroidered or woven?

Evening Dress, July 1822 Ackermann’s Repository

Again, large shawl with decorative edging like that in the previous image

Walking Dress, August 1822 Ackermann’s Repository

Promenade Dress, December 1822 Ackermann’s Repository

From the accompanying text: “Long tippet and muff of chinchilla.”

Evening Dress, March 1823 Ackermann’s Repository

Appears to be a lighter weight shawl—silk?—in a tartan pattern.

Ball Dress, August 1823 Ackermann’s Repository

A light silk gauze wrap.

Evening Dress, September 1823 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, February 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

From the accompanying text: “...lace scarf...”

Morning Dress, March 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, March 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

Dinner Dress, May 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

A very large (and elaborately drawn!) lace shawl.

Ball Dress, August 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

I can’t tell if those are beads on the fringe ends, or just knots.

Evening Dress, September 1824 Ackermann’s Repository

Another silk tartan shawl or scarf.

Evening Dress, January 1825 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, July 1825 Ackermann’s Repository

Another surprisingly modern-looking scarf with knotted fringe.

Morning Dress, August 1825 Ackermann’s Repository

Perhaps a wool tartan shawl here?

Evening Dress, January 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

I wish I had the text for this one, because the coloring on the scarf is very interesting. 
    

Evening Dress, April 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

                                                                                                     

Ball Dress, June 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

This shawl looks almost ombre dyed!

Evening Dress, July 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, August 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, December 1826 Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, March 1827 Ackermann’s Repository

Dinner Dress, November 1827 Ackermann’s Repository

A pretty tartan gauze scarf.

Ball Dress, March 1828 Ackermann’s Repository

From the accompanying text: “...gauze scarf...”

Evening Full Dress, September 1828 Ackermann’s Repository

Another pretty lace scarf to end with!

Any shawls or scarves you'd fancy for your wardrobe?

To be continued...

Accessories, Part 10: More Scarves and Shawls

We’re back for another installment in our fashion series on NineteenTeen focusing not on dresses and gowns (gorgeous as they are) but on the little things that complete a fashionable ensemble—hats, shoes, gloves, purses, parasols, and other accessories.

This week we'll look at more scarves and shawls, following up on the first set of images we saw a few weeks back. In this era of no central heating, the shawl was a ubiquitous—and needed—garment. Ladies made a virtue of necessity by turning it into not only a fashion statement, but also a status indicator via expensive imported shawls from India, of silk and cashmere.

We’ll be seeing examples from 1816 through 1821; I’ll cover later years in the next installment. Look for lots of images rather than commentary, though I’ll try to supply original text if I have it—the point is to be able to examine multiple examples of each item. Images are drawn from my collection of prints from Ackermann’s Repository. Happy accessorizing!

Carriage Dress, March 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

Looks like an Indian import shawl, maybe?

Morning Dress, April 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, May 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

Another fine lace shawl

Evening Dress, June 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

Original text reads, “A rich white lace scarf is thrown carelessly over the left shoulder, and partially shades one side of the neck.” The “casual” look seems to have been in. 

Opera Dress, July 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

Original text reads, “A blush-coloured French silk scarf is thrown carelessly over the shoulders.”

Ball Dress, October 1816, Ackermann’s Repository

I would guess this one is “carelessly draped” as well. Another import shawl?

Carriage Dress, February 1817, Ackermann’s Repository

Juggling both a shawl and a large muff here...

Evening Dress, February 1817, Ackermann’s Repository

Opera Dress, March 1817, Ackermann’s Repository

This looks more like a carriage rug than a shawl, doesn’t it?

Evening Dress, January 1818, Ackermann’s Repository

A plate from a period of court mourning for Princess Charlotte of Wales. The white or grey embroidery on the edge is striking.

Evening Dress, April 1818, Ackermann’s Repository

A tartan shawl? Hmm...

Evening Dress, October 1818, Ackermann’s Repository

Interestingly, a shawl isn’t even mentioned in the dress description in the original text.

Walking Dress, October 1818, Ackermann’s Repository

Original description reads, “A lemon-coloured shawl, very richly embroidered, is thrown loosely over the shoulders.

Walking Dress, November 1818, Ackermann’s Repository

Note the kerchief around the neck as well as the shawl. Original text reads, “...a silk handkerchief is tied carelessly round the throat, and a rich scarf thrown over the shoulders.”

Half Mourning Evening Dress, January 1819, Ackermann’s Repository

Queen Charlotte had died late the previous year, hence the half-mourning by this date. The black scarf shows handsomely against the white dress.

Walking Dress, February 1819, Ackermann’s Repository

Again, no description of the shawl depicted in this print is given, which seems odd.

Walking & Morning Dress, September 1819, Ackermann’s Repository

This shawl appears to be trimmed with broad scalloped lace.

Walking Dress, June 1820, Ackermann’s Repository

Again, the shawl is not described in the text. Had the lovely Indian shawls now become so commonplace as not to merit a description?

Evening Dress, June 1820, Ackermann's Repository

Cottage Dress, September 1820, Ackermann’s Repository

Note the kerchief tied loosely around the neck, matching the dress in color.

Walking Dress, October 1820, Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, February 1821, Ackermann’s Repository

Walking Dress, July 1821, Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, August 1821, Ackermann’s Repository

Evening Dress, September 1821, Ackermann’s Repository
Another plaid shawl!

Evening Dress, November 1821, Ackermann’s Repository

To be continued...