Paris Fashions – 1846

A woman and two children stand in a well-appointed parlor. The older girl, who leans against the arm of a blue-striped silk upholstered chair, wears a blue redingote fastened with buttons to the waist. Her white elaborately-embroidered dress, with a long line of tiny white buttons, is visible at the front. Underneath she wears white lace-trimmed pantalettes over black shoes. Her straw bonnet, trimmed with pink roses and greenery, is tied over her brown ringlets with a white ribbon.

Next to her is a younger boy who tugs on the dress of the woman, gazing up. The boy, not yet breached, wears a green, red, and white striped dress trimmed with narrow black braid and black buttons. The dress has a matching cape also trimmed with black braid. He has a pointed white lace collar, white ruffled pantalettes, white stockings, and black shoes. He carries a wide-brimmed straw hat trimmed with a large white feather and bow; at his feet is a yellow, blue, and red ball.

Looking down at the boy, resting her hand on the chair back, is a blond woman wearing a pale green dress with a top- layer of transparent dotted fabric. The bodice is white with dropped shoulders, narrow sleeves with white cuffs and a wide falling collar. The collar, center front, and edges of the bodice are threaded with wide gray-blue ribbons. The ribbons have bows at the front neck, front waist, and on the shoulders, with black embroidery and fringed ends. The bodice and collar are edged with embroidered ruffles.

The skirt has two tiers with a narrow ruffle at the top of the second tier and scallops at the hem. She wears a straw bonnet trimmed with wide yellow ribbon and stalks of wheat. Her yellow bonnet and the pink furled fringed parasol she holds in her left hand echo the colors of the flowers arranged behind her on a scrolled, wrought-iron and bamboo table. The family stands on a pink carpet and the artist has suggested some tall, expensive drapery behind them.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges