Women’s and Children’s American Fashions – c.1858

Three women and two children model their circa 1858 fashions outdoors. Trees, a lake, and a man with two horses are in the background. The woman in the center wears a yellow wide skirted dress with elaborate decorations of white horizontal braiding on the front of the bodice, the lower portions of the pagoda sleeves, on bands crossing the front of the bodice and skirt, and down the sides of the skirt.

The sleeves are open over a white full sleeved blouse with a wide falling collar and snug cuffs. The bodice has a jewel neckline, dropped shoulders, and a natural waistline, with a very full and wide skirt : it is the height of the crinoline, typical of the 1860s. She wears a brown bonnet trimmed with a row of small pink roses and tied under the chin with a wide ribbon. She carries a white lace handkerchief in her white gloved hand.

The woman on the right wears a long dark green riding habit over a white blouse with a ruffled collar and black bow tie. The hip length jacket fastens in the front with three buttons at the waist, has notched lapels, turned back cuffs on the elbow length sleeves, and two pockets. The edges of the jacket are bound with slightly lighter green.

The skirt has the customary slight train of a riding habit. Her white blouse has full sleeves gathered into cuffs, and a narrow ruffle at the neck. She wears light colored gloves and holds a riding crop in her left hand. Her low crowned green hat is decorated with a green bow and a green feather plume.

The woman on the left is seated and holding a large oval brown fan with fringe. She has discarded her white bonnet which rests behind her showing the pink ribbon ties, and a garland of green leaves around the crown. Under the bonnet is a pink, blue, and white striped drape, which might be her shawl. She wears a pink ribbon around her dark hair. Her gown is gray with a plain underskirt. The bodice and over skirt are decorated with blue ribbon in bands and sections of basket weave. Two sections decorate the skirt at the sides, two narrower sections decorate the sleeves at the hems and at the dropped shoulders.

Plain blue horizontal bands decorate the front of the bodice. Her white blouse has a ruffled collar and wide, full sleeves with snug cuffs. She is wearing black fingerless mitts. A young boy with long wavy hair is sitting in a cane chair staring directly out at the viewer. He wears a dark green jacket over white trousers and a white shirt.

The wide falling collar and wide cuffs of the shirt combined with his long hair give a romantic impression. In the center of the group is a young girl holding the hand of the woman in yellow. She is wearing a short full skirted pink dress with a panel of black cross-hatching down the center front.

Bands of pink scalloped eyelet border the center trimmed portion, the hems of the dropped-shoulder short cap sleeves, and band the skirt just below the waist. She wears white eyelet trimmed pantelets, white stockings, and black ankle boots. Her white blouse has long full sleeves with snug cuffs, vertical tucks on the upper front, and a lace trimmed collar. Her yellow bonnet is tied with a wide white bow, and is trimmed with red ribbon and flowers.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges