French Couple Out of Doors – 1847

A man and woman stand outdoors near a green bench. The woman holds a copy of the magazine, Les Modes Parisienne, for which this illustration was made. The man wears slim fitting tan trousers that brush the top of his matching tan spats. He wears a white pleated shirt with a dark blue cravat, a tan waistcoat, and a gray frock coat with notched lapels. The frock coat has hip pocket flaps and sleeves that reach over his hands, with flared open cuffs.

A white handkerchief falls loosely out of his breast pocket. He holds white gloves and a gray top hat. His dark hair is parted well to the side, and is full and wavy. He wears a mustache and long sideburns. The woman’s tan dress has decoration resembling military braiding with repeating horizontal black ribbon bars down the front of the bodice and skirt. The bars gradually decrease in size from shoulders to waist, then increase from waist to hem. Each segment of ribbon-work is book-ended with black bows, and a small gold buckle sits inside each bow.

The snugly-fitted bodice has a pointed “V” at the waist, and a white lace collar at the jewel neckline. Three black ribbon bars also accent the cuffs of the long snug sleeves, with a bow on each cuff. The horizontal theme of the dress is echoed in the exposed red bricks of the wall and the green bench behind her. A flat-crowned, wide-brimmed straw hat with a black ribbon bow sits behind her on the bench. The front portion of the woman’s hair is parted in the middle with shoulder-length ringlets that frame her face. The back portion is parted across her head and is wound into a coronet of wide braid.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges