London Morning Dress – 1809

A woman and sleeping child sit on an Empire style chaise lounge in London morning dress for 1809. The woman rests her feet on a small matching foot stool. The woman wears a long, white, unstructured dress, with an Empire waist. The bodice has a high standing collar with a ruffle and has a row of small white buttons fastening the center front. Over her dress is a white pelisse coat with ruffled edges and structured cuffs, which reach down over her hands in points. Her dark curly hair is worn under a snugly fitted white net cap with a yellow bow at the back. She wears pale yellow gloves and pale yellow slippers. Next to her on the chaise lounge is a sleeping child wearing a moss green tunic with short cap sleeves. The child is barefoot and bare-legged. In the background is a faint illustration of two children blowing bubbles and playing, hanging in a frame on a stand. The chaise has a large tassel hanging from the curved back. Te woman has a kerchief or wrap in her hands and appears to be either tucking it over the sleeping child, or pulling it loose from beneath the child.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges