The Lady’s Magazine, June 1801.
“Paris Dress.”
This magazine devoted several pages to fashion, both from Paris and London, but never provided descriptions of its prints, which is very frustrating. In this case, the only mention of the print is in the section titled London Fashions:
“The most fashionable ball-dress is either the round tunic, after the Russian manner (as in the engraving), or the Grecian, with points.”
So, we have to simply examine what we see. The tunic crosses only one shoulder. Is that what makes it Russian? It is white, trimmed with blue, with blue fringe at the hem. It is tied under the bosom with cord, ending with tassels. The dress is pink with bishop’s sleeves and a demi-train. The headdress is a sort of turban. She wears bright red slippers and carries a bright red fan.
As with all prints from this magazine labeled “Paris Dress,” the print has been copied from the French magazine Journal des Dames et des Modes.
In this case, the copied print is from the March 1, 1801 issue. That magazine also did not describe its prints. The only hint we get is that the title of the print is “Costume de Bal,” so we know it is indeed a ball dress. There are slight differences, so we know the Lady’s Magazine engraver did not make a direct copy. As with most re-drawings of French prints for The Lady’s Magazine, the facial features are slightly softer and the neck longer. The pattern of the floor is also different. The Lady’s Magazine print shows a lovely parquet floor, whereas the French pint shows what looks like a stone floor. Henry Mutlow was the engraver for this and many other Lady’s Magazine prints, and in my opinion his delineation of folds and draping in this print is a bit more sophisticated than that of the French print, for which the engraver’s identity is unknown.
