Fashions – Spring 1838

Fashions for April 1838. A periwinkle wide-brimmed bonnet with white feathers, a pink wide-brimmed bonnet with white roses and white lace, and a navy wide-brimmed bonnet with white pearls and a yellow horsehair plume are illustrated around four women. The woman on the top left wears a navy wide-brimmed bonnet with white feathers and a pink ribbon, long white gloves, and a white, off the shoulder dress with a wide lace collar, lace trimmed sleeves and pink ribbon detailing on the bodice and waist.

The woman on the top left is shown facing away from the viewer with a white arrow ornament, white feathers and pearls in her hair, a necklace with a square pendant and a white, off the shoulder bodice with bow details on the upper sleeves. The woman on the bottom left is also shown turned away from the viewer and wears a blue wide-brimmed bonnet with white feathers and blue bows, a white lace kerchief collar, fastened with a round brooch, and a striped yellow dress with tiered ruffle sleeves and a narrow ruffle three-quarters down of the length of the skirt, with the wide ruffle below that is bias-cut.

The woman on the bottom right is adorned with a white, wide-brimmed bonnet with white feathers and white flowers with green leaves along the inside. Her dress is violet with ruffles along all the edges and in tiers on the sleeves.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges