American Fashions – 1902

Striped bands create a stylish dress of lavender and black. The collar and upper bodice are pale green with a black floral pattern in brocade or lace. Two wide horizontal bands of lavender and black cross the bodice at the shoulder and just below at the line of the upper sleeve. The remainder of the bodice is vertical stripes of pale green with black dots, alternating with narrow lavender stripes. Two lavender bands of ruffles or feathers run down the center front.

The skirt has three horizontal bands of lavender and black which divide the skirt into three sections of the same vertical alternating stripes and dots. Below the last band at the lowest portion of the skirt is plain lavender with a very slight train, the fullness created by small tucks or slight gathers into the last horizontal band. The dress has narrow sleeves with three lavender and black bands at the upper arm, below the elbow, and at the wrist. The upper sleeves have soft horizontal gathering, and narrow ruffles embellish the sleeves just below the upper bands, and at the wrists.

The woman wears white gloves and holds a closed lavender parasol with a green bow decorating the shaft in her right hand, and what appears to be a small card case in her left hand. Her hat is pale green with an upstanding brim, adorned with black bows and feathers. At the bottom right of the plate is a a black and white illustration of the back view of the dress. Though the plate is drawn instead of a sketch of the woman’s face, a photograph has been added.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges