 |
| View at source here |
Since my recent books have been set in the 1830s, I’ve developed a (perhaps perverse) delight in the extravagant fashions of the Romantic era. The exuberant craziness reached its height in the mid 1830s, then subsided into the early-mid Victorian droop (the flat hair parted in the middle is not the best look for many women). It’s not hard to image the visual effect of the rich fabrics in candlelight and gaslight, the fluttering lace and bobbing bows, and the delicious swishing sounds as these women entered a room.
Today's historical fashions are brought to you by The Court Magazine and Belle Assemblée (one of the incarnations of La Belle Assemblée) for March 1835.
 |
| View at source here |
Due to technical difficulties, my images are smaller than usual. But if you click the captions to the Google Books source, you can enlarge as you wish.
One of us -- 
2 comments:
Yes lovely, but also confining in a way that hadn't been thought of for a while !
The image of the helpless female with her lovely, sloping shoulder was reinforced by cut of the sleeve, set in without a gusset (which would have allowed the wearer to reach up!).
(Credit for this insight goes to one of the speakers at the Smith College Symposium of Dress in November 2013: and for the chance to examine dresses of that period in their collection and that of the Northampton Historical Society.)
Here's the link to the conference:
http://www.smith.edu/narrativesofdress/
and that of the Facebook page for the student project:
https://www.facebook.com/SmithNarrativesOfDress
Post a Comment