…accepted a position at court as “Second Keeper of the Robes” for Queen Charlotte. Unhappy at court, she requested and received release from her position in 1790 due to ill…

Fashions of London and Paris, October 1805. “Head Dresses. Oct. 1805” Compared to prints in this magazine of hats to be worn in full mourning, which are depicted in unrelieved…

La Belle Assemblée, February 1811. “Regency Walking Dress” This is really not a dress, but a pelisse. Sometimes the dress underneath an outer garment is described, even when it is…

…published, probably late December, full court mourning was still observed in the upper levels of society. However, the “General Observations on Fashion and Dress” in this issue of the magazine…

…muslin cloak, with lace let in all round. Straw hat turned up in front, and ornamented with a feather. “COURT MOURNING. Fig. 2.–Dress of sarsnet or muslin. The hair dressed…

…at the last minute to accommodate court mourning. Even the title, “Evening Dress” wasn’t modified to “Evening Mourning Dress.” The print is described in the magazine as follows: “A SECOND…

…print title names this dress as Full Dress for the Opera, etc. Then the description names it a Dinner Dress. Confusing! Though it is a gorgeous dress, it doesn’t look…

…Dress from this issue: “The glorious but dearly bought victory of Waterloo has rendered the court mourning so general … that we have nothing new to announce in colours. The…

La Belle Assemblée, January 1815. “Morning Walking Dress.” The bodice and shoulders of the pelisse are beginning to look like the broad styles of the mid-1820s (not my favorite period)….

…Though court mourning was strict in terms of dress, it did not preclude evening entertainments, at least for the upper classes. This dress, and others in my collection, show elegant…