Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, July 1812.
“Evening Dress.”
I love seeing the back of the dress and the hairdo. Here we see the use of a comb to hold the hair in place. We often read about combs in the hair, but seldom actually see them in prints as the model is typically faced forward.
Though the dress is a simple white crepe, it must have been quite elegant in person, with the embroidered skirt, and what looks to be a striped pattern on the sleeves and bodice.
The print is described in the magazine as follows:
“An embroidered crape round robe, decorated at the feet with a deep Vandyke fringe; short melon sleeve; bosom and back to correspond. White or blossom satin under-dress. Hair a dishevelled crop, ornamented with a small cluster of the Chinese rose on each side, and confined with a comb of pearl at the back of the head. Necklace, ear-rings, and bracelets of pearl and wrought gold. Grecian scarf of lilac silk, with embroidered variegated ends. Slippers of white satin, and gloves of French kid. Fan of imperial crape and ivory, embellished with gold and antique devices.”
