Fashions – 1840

Three women stand in front of a paneled mantelpiece on which rests a tall blue vase of pink flowers. The woman on the left wears a pale blue checked dress with long sleeves, a fitted bodice, and full bell-shaped skirts. The sleeves have two flounces at the upper arm, and are full below, with fitted white cuffs. A bias panel of the same fabric forms a vee over the bodice and continues down the front of the skirt, where it is adorned with a row of pale blue bows. The dress has a white ruffled collar. She wears a deep-brimmed off-white bonnet, which ties under the chin, and has a long feather attached at the brim with a buckle. Her gloves are off-white, and she wears pointed, black shoes.

The middle woman wears a knee-length black velvet cape with braid-edged arm slits, an ermine collar, and ermine trim. She wears a long sleeved blue dress with white cuffs and a ruffle at the hem. She wears pale grey gloves and black-tipped shoes, and holds an ermine muff trimmed with a gray bow. Her bonnet is a pale grey blue, and is decorated with smoky plumes, pink flowers inside the brim, and grey ribbons. The woman on the right wears a pale brown overcoat that is lined and trimmed in pale blue.

The coat has blue lapels and a dramatic cape collar that is caught up over the shoulders, and which has long tassel-trimmed ends. Under the coat, the woman wears a long dress with an ornate blue and gold brooch pinned to its white lace collar. She wears dark pointed shoes, pale blue gloves, and a pale blue bonnet decorated with blue plumes and pink ribbon.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges