Bridal Fashions – Spring 1845

Two women are depicted, probably in a church or chapel, with an arched diamond-paned window in the background. The woman on the left wears a pink bonnet with a sprigged pattern and white lace, tied with pink ribbon. She wears a gray dress, with a brightly colored floral print shawl. The dress is long sleeved with a v-neck and lapels, and has narrow ruffles trimming the lapels, upper sleeves, cuffs, peplum, hem, and a line at about knee-length on the skirt.

She writes with a quill in an open book that rests on a stand on a table. The book seems to have a gold clasp, and tooled binding, and the table is covered with a red cloth edged with wide gold fringe. She may be signing the parish register as a witness to the wedding. The woman on the right is in a wedding dress and veil, and holds a prayer book or small Bible. Her dress is made of white lace with a small floral print and scalloped borders.

Her skirt has three wide tiers of lace, her bodice is high-necked with a narrow ruffled lace collar, and has a large flower and lace corsage on the bodice. Her wide over-sleeves are elbow-length and made of lace with white satin bows, and her narrow fitted under-sleeves end in narrow eyelet ruffles. She wears white gloves, a small gold bracelet, and her dotted floral-edged lace knee-length veil is held on her head by a small wreath of pink or white roses.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges