Fashions and Bonnets – Summer 1839

The woman on the left wears a soft brown dress with a belted waist and a full, bell-shaped skirt. Her sleeves are ruched and fitted until just below the elbow, where they are loose and full, ending in ruched, white cuffs. The vee neckline has a wide, white lace collar fastened with a large, rectangular gold brooch. The woman wears white gloves, black shoes with white stockings, and a thin white necklace with a heart shaped pendant. Her bonnet is made of checked, white fabric, trimmed with pink flowers and green leaves, and has a wide ruffle around the brim.

She carries a small bouquet of pink flowers in her left hand and leans her right hand on a closed, white parasol. The woman on the right wears a pale purple off-the-shoulder dress with a draped, pleated neck, a fitted bodice, and full skirt trimmed with three ruffled bias flounces. Her sleeves have three ruffles above the elbow, then are full from the elbow to the wrists where they are gathered into white, lace-edged cuffs. A large diamond shaped brooch with a dark stone is pinned to the woman’s bodice, and she wears white gloves, stockings, and black shoes. Her white bonnet has an upturned brim, ties under the chin, and is decorated with sprays of blue flowers.

The woman has a yellow shawl edged with white lace ruffles over her arm. The upper half of a third woman is depicted above the other two. She wears a green, checked dress with full sleeves, long, tight cuffs, and a wide white lace shawl collar pinned with an oval gold brooch. Her white bonnet is trimmed with a garland of pink flowers and cascades of white lace.

The woman wears a delicate, beaded filet and white gloves. She sits on an armless, straight-backed chair. In the upper left of the image is a white bonnet trimmed with sheer, lacy ruffles and a spray of pink flowers. A close-fitting, lace-trimmed cap is shown below it. A blue bonnet decorated with white flowers and blue ribbons is drawn in the upper right. Below it is a small, ruffled, white cap trimmed with pink.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges