Fashions – Winter 1840

The top row of figures shows three women. The woman on the left wears a yellow off-the-shoulder dress with a ruched neck and short sleeves, with a wide white lace ruffle at the shoulder and another at the elbow. Her headdress sits low on the back of her head and is composed of two lace ruffles decorated with blue ribbon and pink flowers. The central woman wears a pale purple overdress. The skirt is open in the front to show a white underskirt trimmed with purple bows and bands of decoration.

The bodice is similarly decorated with small bows and bands of trim, and the sleeves are loose and elbow length with turned back cuffs. Her underdress has white full puffed sleeves with narrow cuffs, buttons down the front, and a turned back collar edged with a narrow white ruffle. Her white bonnet is adorned with white lace ruffles, a white plume, and small pink flowers inside the brim. She wears a delicate filet, and white gloves, and carries a white handkerchief in her right hand. The woman on the left wears a pale pink off-the-shoulder dress with a fitted bodice, short white lace sleeves, and a wide band of white lace along the neck.

A brooch is pinned to the bodice, and she wears a fringed, pale blue headdress around the back of her head. In the lower row of two women, the woman on the left is wearing a long-sleeved blue dress with a fitted bodice and full bell-shaped skirts. The dress has ermine cuffs and a wide band of ermine at the hem. She wears a matching short ermine cape. Her gloves are yellow, and she wears black shoes with white stockings. Her deep purple bonnet is trimmed with white lace, blue flowers, and a deep purple plume.

The woman in the lower right wears a plaid or checked blue dress with a bias border at the hem, full skirts, long sleeves, white cuffs, and a white, lace collar. Over her dress she wears a deep green cloak with a wide cape collar and very long lapels. Each hem is edged with light brown fur. She also wears a purple bonnet, which ties in a bow under her chin and is decorated with pink flowers inside the brim, and a large purple plume. Black shoes, white stockings, and yellow gloves complete the ensemble. She carries a white lace edged handkerchief in her left hand.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges