French Fashions – 1866

Two women are depicted in a parlor. The woman on the left wears her hair back, decorated with pink flowers. She wears a white blouse, with a jewel neck, and vertical rows of lace on the front. Over that she wears a white dress patterned with pink flowers and green leaves. The neck is a deep v to the waist, revealing the blouse front. The bodice front and overskirt front are edged with purple ruffles. Her belt is purple, and purple leaf shapes edge the sleeve caps and hems above the ruffle.

The underskirt has vertical white and purple stripes. The woman on the left wears a short white veil, over a cap tied with a white ribbons, and decorated with red and yellow flowers, a white plume, and a black pointed birdlike shape. Her dress is tan and covered with a black coat. The coat has long sleeves, trimmed in black satin and velvet and ends just below the hips. The coat is cut wide at the back to spread across her skirt, and seems to have pockets, and tassels trimming the back. Both skirts are very wide; it is the height of the crinoline fashion.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges