French Fashions – 1869

Two women stand in a salon. The woman on the left wears a small black hat decorated with black lace and green leaves. She faces away, so only the back of her dress is visible. Her dress is deep green with long bell sleeves and a large bow at the back of the waist. The dress has a train, and is elaborately decorated at the back of the skirt, with overlapping triangles edged with black lace ruffles and black ribbons. The back yoke of the bodice, the bow, and the leaf shapes at the lower sleeves are all edged with black lace. Her accessories include white gloves and round gold pendant earrings.

She holds sheet music in her hands. The woman on the right wears her hair up in a coronet of braids. Her dress is light golden brown with a v-neck, long narrow sleeves, and the skirt drawn back and arranged in layers. She wears a white blouse beneath the dress, with narrow ruffled cuffs and the neck edged with triangular pointed lace. The dress has a small bow at the waist, and the neck is edged with ruffles. The layers of the overskirt are trimmed with rows of tasseled fringe at the hems. At the hem of the skirt and the cuffs of the sleeves are graduated groups of pleats. Both skirts have the elaborate back detailing of the bustle style. Her accessories include white gloves and pendant round gold earrings.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges