Lady’s Monthly Museum, May 1801.
“Afternoon Dress for May 1801.”
In these first few years of publication, this magazine produced original fashion prints. Within a few years, they will be “borrowing” them from other magazines, both British and French. The original prints, as here, are sometimes a bit awkward in execution, but nevertheless have a certain charm.
In all of the ladies’ magazines that published fashion prints between 1794 and 1803, we frequently see Afternoon Dresses featured. They are presented as something much dressier than one would expect to see in the afternoon. Here, for example, we see velvet, jet beading, gold tissue, and rather fancy head dresses. By the end of the Regency years, we begin to see “Afternoon Dresses” that are clearly day wear.
The print is described in the magazine as follows:
“1. White crape petticoat. Vest of crimson velvet, with jet beads down the sleeves. Cestus of gold tissue. White crape ruff. Head dress of pink and jet beads, with two pink and white feathers.
“2. Yellow muslin robe, trimmed round the bosom and sleeves with blue or green gimp. Ruff of white lace. Head dress, a yellow net bound with jet beads; and yellow and blue feathers. The robe ornamented by jet beads.”
