Paris Fashions – Summer 1873

This hand-colored 1873 Victorian fashion plate from Bow-Bells Paris Fashions features two women and a young girl on a rocky seashore with crashing waves. The woman on the left is seen from behind, wearing an elaborate grey bustle-style overskirt with prominent decorative bows over a multi-tiered ruffled purple underskirt, paired with a small straw hat and a flowing grey veil. The woman on the right leans forward, wearing a structured white jacket over a dark vest and a brown overskirt with a bright blue underskirt, holding a closed umbrella. Between them, a young girl stands on the rocks in a nautical-inspired black jacket and a red-and-white striped pleated skirt.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges