French Fashions – 1863

Two women are depicted on a rocky beach next to the sea. The woman on the left wears a tan bowler hat with red and black plumes. Her dress is a gray blue with black pinstripes. There are buttons down her bodice and ruffles at the bottom of her skirt. The dress has long sleeves, a shirt collar and black edging around her jacket and skirt. She carries a gray cloak with red edging and tassels, a blue book and a red striped object that may be a beach chair. The blond woman on the right wears a blue scarf around her head. Her dress is cream with a repeating curving pattern in black around the hem of her skirt. She has on a matching cloak with the same pattern at the hem of it.Both the skirts are very wide; it is the height of the crinoline fashion. In the background are two small boats at sea.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges