Walking Dress – Summer 1821

Woman wears a blue walking dress with long sleeves, a high collar, and a high waist. Under the high collar is a high white lace ruff that reaches the chin. Down the front of the dress is a vertical line with horizontal blue bands branching off to either side. The shoulders of the dress are decorated with matching blue bands. She wears blue boots, yellow gloves, and pearl drop earrings.

Her hair is parted in the center with curls over both ears, and a braided coronet on the back of her head. She carries her white poke bonnet by the wide ribbons over her arm. The brim of the bonnet is deep and the bonnet itself is trimmed with white ruffles and a large, white plume. The woman has her large, pale yellow shawl wrapped around the crook of her left elbow. The shawl is fringed and patterned with red and blue along the hem. The woman is indoors, in an art gallery. She carries an open museum program or catalog in her hands.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges