American Fashions – Spring 1882

Five women stand on a porch conversing with each other. The woman on the far left wears her hair dressed back in a loose twist at the neck with bangs. She wears oval pendant earrings. Her green plaid dress has a high collar and long sleeves. There are rose red bows at her collar, sleeve cuffs, and at her hips. There are buttons down her bodice front and ruching at her waist. Her skirt has ruffled and draped sections, some in plain green and some in the green and brown plaid. The next woman wears her hair dressed softly back, with curled bangs. Her yellow dress dress has a v-neck and three-quarter length sleeves.

There are bands of white scallops down the center front of the bodice, at the cuffs, and at the hem, and red, gray and black floral fabric. Her skirt has draping and pleats at the hem. She wears gray elbow length gloves. The woman next to her wears a straw hat trimmed with blue gray fabric and plumes. Her dress is the same blue gray with a small floral pattern in darker gray or black. Her dress has long sleeves, draping at the hips, a wide sash with hanging ends trimmed with fringe at the back, and many tiers of pleating. She wears pendant earrings, and her blond hair is dressed softly at the back of her neck.

The next woman wears a purple and yellow bonnet. Her dress is purple with a floral print and has a high collar and three-quarter length sleeves. There are white ruffles at the collar, sleeve cuffs, and at the center front of the bodice. Her skirt has a draped overskirt and tiers of ruffles on the underskirt. She holds a closed red fan in her right hand, and wears tan long gloves. The woman on the far right wears a vivid blue bonnet with white plumes and red flowers.

Her dress is vivid blue with a high collar, three-quarter length sleeves, and ruching around her collar. At her cuffs are tied bands of yellow, green, and red striped fabric. A very long sash of the same fabric is wrapped twice around her waist, with long hanging ends, and the same fabric forms the underskirt. She wears pendant earrings and white gloves, and holds a white parasol trimmed with a blue bow and red flowers.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges