Half Dress – Winter 1813

Regency Era Half Dress in Ackermann’s Repository 1813 Print

This original hand-colored fashion plate from March 1813, published in London for the famous Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, illustrates an authentic “Half Dress” worn by aristocratic ladies during the high Regency period. The quiet evening scene depicts a seated woman in profile, reading a book at a small wooden pedestal table by candlelight. She is dressed in a slate blue or lavender round gown featuring the high-waisted Empire silhouette, adorned with delicate golden embroidered spots or sprigs across the fabric. Over her dress, she wears a fine cream-colored lace mantle or short shawl draped loosely across her shoulders and long sleeves, capturing the elegant simplicity of early 19th-century British domestic fashion.

Antique Georgian Library Illustration and Candlelight Evening Wear

An exceptional archival resource for historical interior design and textile history, this late Georgian print highlights the intimate parlor habits of high-society women. The lady’s hair is completely enclosed in an elaborate white lace mob cap or morning cap detailed with fine ruffles, and she wears a simple thick gold chain necklace. The scene is accented by a neoclassical brass candlestick holder with a burning candle casting light onto the open pages. Sitting on a pleated, fabric-covered square stool, this figure provides highly optimized search value for theater costume designers, historic print collectors, and curators researching Regency-era reading attire, nightcaps, and candlelight lighting history.