Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, May 1809.
“Walking Dress.”
The white dress, which we see very little of, is made of a fabric I had never encountered before: Scotia washing silk. Scotia silk is a blend of cotton and silk with a slightly glossy finish, and this version is apparently washable. The “General Observations” following the descriptions of the prints notes that “Scotia silk is in great request for dresses.”
The print is described in the magazine as follows:
“Dress of white Scotia washing silk. Bishop’s mantle of sage or olive-green striped and plain silks, made entirely without seams; border of the same colour. Hat to correspond, and decorated with artificial flowers. Shoes sage or olive-green, also to correspond.”
In the following issue of the magazine, in June, there is a footnote in the section on fashion stating that the Bishop’s Mantle shown in this print was “invented by Mrs. James, New Bridge-street, Blackfriars.” Modistes paid to have their dresses featured in this upscale magazine. Mrs. James must have been unhappy that she was not mentioned in the description of this print in the May issue. I wonder if a tiny footnote in the next issue was enough to placate her?
