American Fashions – Spring 1865

Five women and a little girl are depicted in a salon. The woman on the far left reads to the little girl seated next to her. She wears her hair back in waves with a up with a cap of black lace. Her dress is purple with a jewel neck and long sleeves. The dress has a narrow white collar under a wide square collar edged in ruffles. At the center she wears an oval gold brooch. There are ruffles up the sleeves from the cuffs. She has buttons down her bodice, and her skirt has a wide pleats at the hem, edged above with ruffles. The little girl in front of her wears a white dress with a jewel neck and long sleeves and ends just below the knees.

Her shirt has gray pinstripes and buttons down her back. The bodice of her jumper dress is turquoise with ruffles on the edges and a bow at her back. Her skirt is white with six turquoise stripes at the hem. She wears turquoise ankle boots. The woman to the right wears a white lace bonnet with blue flowers. Her dress is tan with bright blue accents at her collar, sleeves and hem of her dress. The dress has a jewel neckline, with buttons down the center front of her dress, and long narrow sleeves. About half way down her skirt, the buttons are open to reveal the bright blue underskirt.

The woman to her right wears a hat with black lace and plumes. Her dress is a dark green with cord detailing. The dress has a jewel neckline, long narrow sleeves, and buttons down the center front of her dress. Next to the buttons, on the bottom of her skirt, and on her sleeves are looped cord detailing in the same green. She holds a white fan in her left hand. The woman to her right wears a white hat with white decorations and feathers over a green snood. Her dress is light brown in a masculine style and consists of four pieces over a white blouse. Her skirt is light brown with no decoration.

Her blouse has a narrow standing collar edged with a narrow ruffle. Over the blouse is a hip length button front vest. The buttons are open below the waist, and at the top, the blouse puffs out over the front. Over all she wears a light brown jacket with buttons down the center front and on the sleeves, which is a bit longer than the vest. She wears it unbuttoned.

She stands with her right hand in her vest pocket. The woman on the far right wears a white hat with purple ribbon. Her dress is purple with a floral design banding the hem. The same pattern edges the overskirt, the bodice yoke, and the center back of the overskirt. She also wears pendant pearl earrings. All the skirts are very wide; it is the height of the crinoline fashion.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges