Social Party Dress – 1838

A woman poses in social party dress for 1838. She wears a white bonnet with ruffled lace lappets, and a ruffle and ribbon on the crown. Small pink flowers with green leaves adorn the side of the bonnet and two pale pink ribbons hang down the back. The collar of the dress is folded over, and is made of white lace with a ruffled edge. The collar creates a “V” shaped neck and a black brooch is fastened in the center.

The rest of her dress is mint green with a bodice that has diagonal pleating on it. A twisted bow sash is tied at the waist. Her sleeves are long with a small pleated section on top, and two gathered tiers with ruffled edges. The bottom half of the sleeves are puffed with a tight cuff around the wrist. She wears a pair of white gloves. The skirt is very full and bell-shaped. The skirt is plain except for a column of ruffles with a band of horizontally ruched fabric, which runs down the center of the skirt. She wears a pair of black ballet flats with white stockings.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges