Fashion Plate, Fashionable Walking & Evening Dresses1818

Fashionable Walking&Evening Oct 1818 .jpg

Subject

Illustration

Title

Fashion Plate, Fashionable Walking & Evening Dresses1818

Date

October 1, 1818

Description

This fashion plate, entitled “Fashionable Walking and Evening Dresses for October 1818” was published October 1, 1818 by Dean & Munday, Threadneedle Street, as noted on the bottom of the plate. Dean & Munday was a printer located in London beginning in 1808 later purchased by Odham’s in the 20th century (The British Museum). Other examples from the printer can be found at the National Portrait Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The British Museum. In addition to fashion plates, the company also printed satirical art, portraits of nobility, and periodicals.  They are also listed under the name Dean & Co in some collections, including The British Museum.

This fashion plate features two women wearing spencer jackets, one in walking attire and one in an evening dress as the title states. The style of dresses remains tubular in the Neoclassical style popular of the era, with high waistlines. The spencer jacket is a short jacket, ending below the bustline, with long sleeves and a high collar, matching the higher waisted gowns of the regency era. It is named after the Second Earl of Spencer, “who is said to have worn short jackets without tails in the 1790s and started the fashion for them” (Victoria and Albert Museum). A jacket was both necessary and fashionable as the dresses of the period were made largely out of thin cotton muslin and lightweight silk. The puffed sleeve was common for the era, as was the double sleeve.

The figure on the left wears a white day dress with tiered lace at the hem. The high collar creates a ruffle around the neckline. Her green spencer jacket creates an inverted V-shape at the bustline and is paned at the shoulder, allowing for a voluminous puffed effect. The long sleeves partially cover her hands and are secured at the wrist. She wears a bonnet with green trim and a green bow, tied at the neck with a green ribbon. The bonnet is also draped with gauzy fabric, creating a veil around her face. Small curls frame her forehead under the bonnet. She wears green and white flat button boots and cream-colored gloves.

The figure on the right wears a blue spencer jacket in a wrap style over an evening dress of the same color. Although the ensemble could be mistaken for a pelisse (a full-length coat), the fashion plate’s title clearly states that this outfit is evening attire. The blue jacket has long sleeves with paned and puffed shoulders, and a high collar trimmed with multiple layers of lace resembling a ruff. The bottom of the gown is decorated with trim of the same color, showing two rows of gathered puffs and a row of single puffs. Her wrapped headdress is white with blue dots and forms a large bow high on her head; curls frame her face. She wears cream-colored gloves, likely made of leather, and blue slippers with a white bow, possibly made of silk.

Both figures echo features frequently seen in fashion at the time, notably spencers, ruffs, and decorative treatments on the upper sleeves and skirt borders.

References

National Portrait Gallery, “Fashion Plates Introduction.” London.

Nevinson, John L. Origin and Early History of the Fashion Plate. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press, 1967.

The British Museum. “Dean & Co.” Accessed November 15, 2021.https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG24767

Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. "Jacket: Unknown: V&A Explore The Collections." Accessed November 14, 2021. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O13827/jacket-unknown.

Source

Donor: Elizabeth Brown

Identifier

URI 2011.13.83 K

Contributor

Stephanie Neilitz

Publisher

Dean & Mundy

Collection

Citation

“Fashion Plate, Fashionable Walking & Evening Dresses1818,” Historic Textile and Costume Collection, accessed March 29, 2024, https://uritextilecollection.omeka.net/items/show/493.