Head Dresses – Summer 1872

The busts of seven women are depicted to show new Paris fashions for headdresses. Six of the busts are wearing gold pendant earrings of various styles. The top left, labeled 1, shows a woman wearing a white lace cap with lappets, decorated with ruched light blue ribbon. The woman labeled 2 wears her hair up in an elaborate twisted knot. Her dress is light rose pink, trimmed with two rows of narrow black ribbon.

She has a white standing collar, with a black lace bow. The woman labeled 3 wears her hair up in a coronet of braids, and a gold hair ornament or comb at the center. Her dress is gold, trimmed with black satin ribbon edged with black lace ruffles at the neckline, and a narrow white lace ruffle at the inner edge. The woman labeled 4 wears her hair up in braids with a garland of pink flowers and green leaves, with a dangling section of garland at the back. She is wearing a white pin-tucked dress or blouse, with a white lace ruffle at the neck, decorated with four rows of deep rose pink satin ribbon on the bodice.

The woman labeled 5 wears a headdress of green ribbon twined with gold cord, and topped with white and black plumes. She wears gold pendant earrings and a gold necklace with five gold oval pendants. The neck of her green evening dress is decorated with twined green ribbon and gold cord to match her headdress, and is edged with a narrow white lace ruffle at the neck and sleeves. The woman labeled 6 wears a small headdress of white lace with a lavender bow. Her hair is dressed back in large braids. Her dress is lavender with white lace ruffles at the neck. She wears small gold pendant earrings.

The woman labeled 7 depicts the back view of woman 5 showing the details of the back of her headdress. The black and white plumes are shown with the hanging green ribbons, and the gold cording looped into a bow, with the long tasseled end hanging to the bottom of her hair. In this view a small gold decorative brooch with three pendants is shown at the top of her sleeve.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges