Thursday, June 2, 2011

Fashions for June 1828

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Loretta reports:

Here are some examples from La Belle Assemblée of the styles that Jessica Trent, the fashion-conscious heroine of Lord of Scoundrels, might have worn—and this will probably explain why Lord Dain found her attire so entertaining.
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FASHIONS FOR JUNE, 1828.

EXPLANATION OF THE PRINTS OF THE FASHIONS.

DINNER PARTY DRESS.
A Dress of celestial-blue gros des Indes, trimmed at the border with two rows of pointed flounces, falling over each other, and the edges bound with satin. These pointed flounces are beautifully fluted; the upper one finished at the head by cinque-foil ornaments in silk, pointed and edged round by narrow rouleaux of satin. The body is en gerbe, and the sleeves à la Marie, confined by bands, and, on each band, at the outside of the arm, is a buckle. At the wrist is a cuff formed of flutings, and next the hand a bracelet of dark hair, clasped by a cameo. Round the bust is a very broad falling tucker of white blond; and a white crape fichu is worn under the dress, buttoning down the front, and surmounted by a triple ruff of lace or blond, just beneath the throat. Hat of white crape, ornamented under the brim with blue and white satin, en spatula. Ribbons of the same two colours adorn the crown, with a delicate plume of white ostrich feathers.

BRIDAL COSTUME.
A Dress of spotted tulle, over white satin, with two flounces, elegantly finished at the edges with figured gauze ribbon: these flounces are set on, in slight festoons, and each flounce is headed by a wreath of embossed foliage, in white satin. The corsage is à la Marie Stuart, with a Sévigné drapery across the upper part of the bust, of plain tulle, drawn together in the centre by a rosette of white satin: the sleeves are full, and have mancherons formed of two scallops, on each shoulder, of white satin, edged with blond. At the wrists are white satin antique points, and next the hand a very broad Hindostanee bracelet of gold, with a cameo head. The hair is arranged à la Grecque; in the centre, and placed very backward on the summit of the head, is a light, short plume of white feathers. On the left side is a bouquet of orange flowers, with a small portion of the green foliage; on the left, a full-blown white rose. The ear-pendants and necklace are of fine pearls.

2 comments:

Isobel Carr said...

I love it when people highlight the fact that the fashions of the 1820s were very different from those of the strict “Regency” (and the preceding Grecian-influenced decades). I see far too many books where women in the mid-to-late 1820s are still wearing column gowns that would have been fashionable for their mothers (or even their grandmothers).

Candice Hern said...

I have to confess that every time I read LORD OF SCOUNDRELS I force myself not to think about what Jessica would be wearing. These styles, which become worse over the next 5 years, just boggle my mind.

 
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