Morning and Evening Dresses – Winter 1831

Two women appear in a morning dress and an evening dress. The woman on the right wears a red evening dress. The dress has a wide collar with the front of the bodice gathered into a V-shape with a ruby brooch. White lace under the bodice is visible in the collar. Wide white lace ruffles create epaulets at the shoulders. Her wide, short, puffed sleeves are similar to a lantern sleeve and a lace ruffle edges the bottoms. She wears black pointed shoes and yellow gloves. The rest of her dress is red with two rows of zigzag detailing at the hem and at the knee.

The woman wears a gold rope necklace with a red ruby and gold drop earrings. Her hair is arranged in an elaborate braided crown decorated with yellow striped ribbons, and a ruby and gold gem at the front. She sits on a blue upholstered, wooden chair. She holds a tea cup and saucer in her right hand and a teaspoon in her left. The woman on the left stands to the back and left of the other woman. She wears a green morning dress with wide, long, leg-of-mutton sleeves that have a virago sleeve style below the elbow. Two white lace ruffles edge the cuffs. Her bodice is made of draped fabric and a black belt with a gold rectangular buckle.

A white lace undergarment is visible at the bodice. Her dress is ankle length. The hem is decorated with two ruffles and two tiers of gathered fabric. She wears light blue and black boots, and light blue gloves. A light blue shawl with a vine leaf pattern is draped around her neck. Her hair is dressed in elaborate puffs with bunches of side curls and a center part. She holds a large brimmed yellow straw hat with blue and pink bows and sprigs of a greenery.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges