Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, July 1813.
“Morning Walking Dress.”
I like this print so much I used it for the cover of my digital short story, Lady Anne’s Excellent Adventure.
Most ladies’ magazines had a section following the fashion prints variously titled, for example, General Observations on Fashion and Dress. Ackermann’s at this time followed the fashion prints with Letter from a Young Lady in London to Her Friend in the Country, which served almost the same purpose as the General Observations. In this month’s Letter, we read about young belles “in their Cossack coats and mantles of various hues.” It goes on to describe in detail the Cossack coat, which includes a bit of military flair, but there is no more mention of the Cossack mantle. This print shows a green Cossack mantle. I have no idea what makes this mantle a Cossack style.
The print is described in the magazine as follows:
“A cambric or jaconet muslin round robe, with long sleeves and falling collar, trimmed with a plaiting of net, or edged with lace, finished at the feet with a border of needle-work. A Cossack mantle of Pomona green-shot sarsnet, lined throughout with white silk, and bordered with a double row of Chinese binding, the ends finished with rich correspondent tassels, and a cape formed of double and deep vandyke lace. A provincial poke bonnet, of yellow quilted satin; ribband to correspond with the mantle, puffed across the crown, and tied under the chin; a small cluster of flowers placed on the left side, similar to those on the small lace cap which is seen beneath. Parasol and shoes the colour of the mantle, and gloves a pale tan colour.”
