Fashions – Autumn 1841

Fashions for October 1841 Early Victorian Historical Costume Plates

This original hand-colored steel engraving, titled “Fashions for October 1841,” provides a premier visual archive of early Victorian autumn garments. The compilation layout displays five distinct high-society female figures, showcasing the structured and elongated silhouettes that defined the early 1840s. The full-length figure on the left models an elegant rich teal or royal blue day dress, featuring a fitted pointed bodice, a voluminous dome-shaped crinoline skirt, and a short matching shoulder capelet or pelerine with intricate scalloped edge trimmings and passementerie detailing.

Antique Tartan Plaids and Detailed Early 1840s Bonnet Millinery

The companion full-length dress on the right highlights the complex surface ornamentation popular across elite British and French social circles, featuring a golden-bronze or taupe silk gown adorned with an extensive vertical column of structured fabric loops and blue ribbon piping down the center panel. The three upper half-length portraits offer deep contextual research into early Victorian accessory styling, displaying a vibrant red-and-white tartan plaid wool shawl, fine embroidered white lace collars, and structured poke bonnets lined with artificial silk roses and curled ostrich feathers, making this antique engraving an invaluable asset for costume designers and nineteenth-century textile historians.