What was the well-dressed young woman wearing in the first half of 1833? I'm dividing this year in half just because I have a lovely selection of prints to share, and don't want to leave anything out!
In January, she might be wearing a
Morning Dress or
Walking Dress as shown in
The Court Magazine. I have the original text for these: "Morning Dress—Dress of chaly [challis], printed
à colonnes, high body, with crossed plaits, plain back, laced; large full sleeves, tight to the elbow. Apron of black gros de Naples, embroidered with a wreath of
sweet peas; epaulettes on the shoulders embroidered also; cap of Brussels lace, trimmed with maïs gauze riband. Walking Dress—Dress of blue
saphire satin, plain body; tippet of black velvet
à godets, and long ends; blonde ruff, with a bow of
maïs gauze riband; capote of
maïs terry velvet, lined with black velvet, and plait of velver to mix in the curls; trimmed with a
maïs and black
cerbère feather and
maïs gauze riband." "
Maïs" here indicates a pale yellow, like maize or corn.
Also in January’s
Court Magazine, this elegant
Evening Dress. The text reads, "Dress of white Cachemire [cashmere]
à colonnes, alternately high
corsage drapé, with borders to corespond with the pattern of the dress; short sleeves of white gros de Naples under long crapelisse sleeves; hat of
grenat velvet, trimmed with
torsades of velvet and a green bird of Paradise."
This print from
Court Magazine’s February edition does something that
Ackermann’s prints didn’t: show a front and back view, but slightly varied (a different fabric, perhaps.) This is a charming
Dinner or Evening Dress, with an elegant turban headdress:
March’s
Court Magazine has two wonderful
Ball Dresses, one of them for a costume ball as it called "Catherine Seton", after one of Mary Queen of Scots ladies-in-waiting. Text reads: Catherine Seton--Dress of white satin, trimmed with blue velvet and pearls.
Tunique of the same, and
cordelière in pearls.
Cherusse of blond; head dress of pearls, and a veil. Ball Dress—Dress of
cerise gauze
“à damier,” trimmed with gauze ribands and flowers. Plain body with
bouffantes short sleeves “
à côtes,” with
sabots. Wreath of small flowers same as the dress."
One thing I especially enjoy about these prints from
Court Magazine are the attention lavished on backgrounds as well as on the dresses themselves, making them even more eye-candyish. April's
Court Dress definitely qualifies as eye-candy, by the way--the description reads: "White satin dress embroidered
à tablier, in gold lama [lamè]; train and body
à l’antique, in violet velvet embroidered in gold; sleeves
à pointes, in velvet fastened with brilliants, blonde mantilla and sabots. Plume of ostrich feathers, and blond lappets."
Also in April's edition is a
Carriage Dress—again, we have a front and back view, with slight variations: "Pelisse of green
rayé watered silk, trimmed in front, cape of the same with epaulets; frill in plain blond net. Bonnet of mauve satin with one white ostrich feather."
Another
Court Dress features in May's
Court Magazine, this time in cherry-pink and white, with a bow-decorated train and sleeves, an emerald parure, and the requisite ostrich feathers and lappets:
And lastly, for June, a restrained yet still wildly romantic
Evening Dress, all of the same fabric but with a scalloped overskirt, gathered bouffant sleeves, and a few outrageously large bows to finish things off. And again, the background art is as pretty as the dress:
What do you think of 1833's fashions?
