Daguerreotype of a Seated Woman, ca. 1850

This photograph shows an older woman seated and resting her arm on a table with four books.  She is wearing a dark-colored day dress with bishop sleeves, which are gathered into narrow cuffs at each wrist. Bodices at this time were V-shaped and restrictive, limiting body movement. Her bodice is loosely fitted and shirred at the waist. The sheen of the fabric suggests that it is silk.

Fashion plates and costume history books show the latest styles for affluent, urban people. This photograph demonstrates what older women might have worn in rural Rhode Island in the 1840s. She has a neck ribbon, possibly velvet, which is the only ornament on her otherwise plain outfit.

References 

Joan Severa, Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1995.