Bridal Fashions – 1860

Five women are depicted, with the bride in the center. The woman on the far left wears a white ruffled bonnet with matching ribbon. Her dress is purple with long wide sleeves. Black trim edges her lapels and continues in a zigzag pattern down her skirt. Down the center of her skirt are five large black dots. She holds a handkerchief in her right hand.

Behind her, sketched lightly, is the head and shoulders of a seated man wearing spectacles. The woman next to her wears a pink and white bonnet and a white and blue striped dress; the stripes are horizontal and narrow. Her blouse is white with a narrow collar and long gathered sleeves, under the wide sleeves of the dress.

The woman in the middle wears a her wedding costume. Her veil falls from the flower coronet in her hair, and ends just above the ground. Her dress has a jewel neck and the sleeves are long and narrow. Down the front of the dress are ten wide white bows. The woman next to her wears a white bonnet with red flowers.

Her dress is dark green with long bell sleeves. Her lapels and cuffs are edged in dark green. The dark green trims the center of her skirt and the wide cuffs in wide bands. The woman on the far right wears a white lace bonnet with a gray dress. Her dress has a jewel neck and long narrow sleeves. Covering the bodice, continuing down the center, and edging the bottom of the skirt and cuffs is a wide band of deep pink and black lace.

She holds a fan in her right hand. All the skirts are very wide; it is the height of the crinoline fashion.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges