American Fashions – Spring 1890

Five women are standing in an elegant room. The woman on the left is wearing a blue dress trimmed with blue and white stripes. The dress jacket has wide striped lapels, two pairs of buttons, and sleeves that are slightly full at the shoulders, and reach just below her elbows, with striped cuffs with two buttons. Beneath this she wears a white tucked blouse, with a pleated band of stripes slightly off center at the front and also finishing the collar. Her skirt has a asymmetrical opening at the right hip, showing a pleated white skirt beneath, and banded at opening and hem with blue stripes.

She wears tan gloves, and a blue bow at the nape of her neck. The second woman from the left is wearing a red dress trimmed with black, and a red striped hat, trimmed with black ribbon. The bodice has a high collar, and narrow elbow length sleeves, full at the shoulder. the bodice and sleeves are trimmed with black stripes with patterns of white dots. These stripes run the length of the sleeves, form the cuffs and collar, and converge at the hem of the bodice, which comes to a point below the waist. The skirt has groups of vertical black stripes, and fullness at the hips. She wears tan gloves.

The young woman in the center is wearing a white or light gray dress, trimmed with wide bands of white, black, yellow, and red plaid and stripes. The dress has a high standing collar, fastened with a gold brooch shaped like leaves, elbow length sleeves with bias plaid cuffs and fullness at the shoulder, and tucking down the center front of the bodice. At the waist is a blue satin belt fastened at the center front with a long oval clasp. Her underskirt is white or light greay with wide pleats, and her overskirt is banded at the hem with stripes and plaid, and tucked up in the front and back to provide visual interest with the patterns formed by the stripes. She is wearing a straw hat trimmed with gray plumes and holds a closed red parasol with a black handle. She wears a bead bracelet on her right wrist. Almost concealed behind her is a small round white table with ornate curved gilded legs.

The woman second from the right is holding open a lidded box on the table. She is wearing a green dress, with a asymmetrical bodice closed with a row of small buttons, and a gathered or softly pleated skirt. Over this she wears a striped hip length black jacket with wide yellow lapels and cuffs, and three buttons. Her hat is green trimmed with black. She wears tan buttoned gloves and small pendant earrings. The woman on the far right is wearing a lavender dress with a lavender with a black floral pattern for the sleeves and underskirt. The sleeves are long, narrow, and full at the shoulders. The collar is a high standing collar with a circular brooch at the center front.

The bodice is softly pleated into the waist at the center front where it is finished with a band with long hanging pointed ends. The skirt has a band of moire trimming the hem. She wears a round straw hat trimmed with flowers and ribbon, tan gloves, and a wide bangle bracelet on her right wrist. She is is reaching towards the box on the table with a card in her left hand, and in her right hand she holds her card case.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges