La Belle Assemblée, October 1817.
“Evening Dress”
This is the period of the teeny tiny bodice, particularly in evening dress, with the waist set higher than at any other time — at least in the fashion prints, where the woman’s anatomy is weirdly exaggerated. (How many ribs would have to be removed to create such a shape?) One has to wonder how a woman with a fuller bosom would have worn such a bodice!
We also begin to see more hats with evening dress in the later years of the Regency.
Note that she is holding what looks to be an ivory brisé fan. Read about them here.
The print is described in the magazine as follows:
“Round dress of gossamer satin of the palest shade of celestial blue; finished round the border with a broad full Buffon ornament of white crape or net, elegantly interspersed with a novel kind of silk trimming, the color of the dress. Tucker of blond and full flutings. Pavillion hat toque of white satin, ornamented at the edge with silver, and surmounted by a plume of ostrich feathers. Diamond chain necklace, with fan of white crape and silver. White satin shoes, and white kid gloves.”
