English Fashions – 1866

Two women are depicted in a parlor. The woman on the left wears a light purple veil with a purple ribbon tied under her chin. Her dress is light purple, and covered by a black coat. The coat has long sleeves and ends at the hip. The coat is decorated with black buttons and rows of tassels just above the hem and on the top of her sleeve.

The woman on the right wears a black lace cap with blue flowers. Her dress is gray with a narrow white collar, long sleeves, and blue buttons down her bodice. She has stripes of vivid blue and black pointed lace on her sleeves caps, cuffs, and three rows along the hem of her skirt. She wears pendant pearl earrings. Both skirts are very wide; it is the height of the crinoline fashion.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges