Fashions for July 1866

July 1866 Fashions

Loretta reports:

Last time I complained about the dearth of 1840s and 1850s ladies magazines, especially for England. While readers have generously pointed me to a treasure trove of fashion plates, we’re still not turning up whole magazines for these decades online.

The 1860s and 1870s are another matter entirely. For these decades Google Books offers numerous editions of The World of Fashion as well as the London and Paris Ladies’ Magazine of Fashion (which may be the same magazine under a different name, as happened often enough) and others, complete with color fashion plates.

July 1866 Fashions

What I’m noticing is a difference in shape of the skirt. According to Cunnington’s English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century, crinolines were going out of fashion, but they weren’t going out instantly. So the skirts are cut a bit differently from before, and look more triangular than bell-shaped.

Of the five sets of fashion plates for July, I settled on the first two. To see more, simply click on the links to the first two, and turn pages. You'll find a pair of beautiful ball dresses on some  strangely drawn women, especially one, whose head seems to be attached to the wrong body.

Plate 1 & 2 description

Plate 2 description cont'd

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