Bridal Fashions – 1874

Two women are standing in a parlor. The woman on the left wears a bridal gown. Her blond hair is worn up and accented with white flowers. Her veil ends just above the ground. Her dress has a high ruffled collar and long sleeves. There are buttons down the center of the bodice. Her dress is trimmed with two or three rows of white ribbon with eyelet ruffles on the bodice, cuffs, collar, and skirt.

A pleated flounce trims the hem of the overskirt, which has flat bows as accents. She carries a white book in her left hand, and has a small posy of white flowers and green leaves pinned to her bodice The woman on the right wears a small black hat decorated with vivid blue ribbon, feathers, leaves, and a bird. Her jacket and skirt are gray, trimmed with vivid blue. The jacket is in a masculine style with a high collar, long sleeves, and a hip length peplum.

Blue buttons line both blue lapels, and the jacket is open to reveal more vivid blue, possibly a vest. White ruffles form the standing collar and the cuffs of the blouse. The hem of the jacket, the cuffs, and the side of the skirt are blue. On the front of her skirt are blue horizontal stripes, and the edges of the ruffle of the overskirt are trimmed with blue. The blue skirt section is trimmed with a row of wide flat gray bows. The back of the skirt consists of wide gray ruffles edged with blue gathered at the back. She wears pendant earrings and a black ribbon choker with a pendant.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges