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Fashions for the New Year

Transcript from the
Illustrated London News
1 January 1859


Fashions for the New Year (from the ILN, January 1959) - click for enlargement The illustration:
(click thumbnail for enlargement in a separate window)
Little girl of five or six years of age: dress of blue chequered poplin. Cloak of brown cloth, trimmed with ruches of cerisse-coloured taffety. The cloak has a small cape and loose sleeves trimmed with the same ruches. Bonnet of blue quilted satin, with a bow in front and the ends hanging at each side. Boots of blue cashmere tipped with glazed leather.
Little girl between three and four years of age: dress of mauve-coloured cashmere, with a tablier font formed of quilted silk of the same colour. A circular cloak or cape of mauve-coloured cashmere, with a deep border of quilted silk corresponding with the tablier front of the dress. The bonnet is in the style of an infant's bood, and has attached to it a deep bavolet or cape. It is made of white quilted silk, and trimmed with swansdown. Trousers of white nainsook, edged with needlework. Boots of grey cashmere.
Lady's dress: dress of grey matelassé silk, trimmed with broad bands of blue velvet, and up the front three rows of blue velvet buttons. Round the waist a ceinture of blue ribbon fastened in front in a bow and long flowing ends. The jacket, which is also trimmed with bands of blue velvet, has a very small basque and loose pagoda sleeves. Under-sleeves of worked muslin. Cap of white lace with blue velvet trimming. Round the throat a ruche of narrow lace.

Fashions for January

Among the most conspicuous novelties prepared for the present gay season we may mention a vast variety of artificial flowers of surpassing beauty. Those mounted, for ball head-dresses, are in the style of cache-peignes, or bouquets for the back of the head; or they are in wreaths intended to encircle the head. Many of these new flowers are most perfect imitations of rare and curious exotics; others are what may be called fancy flowers, that is to say, they exhibit the exquisite forms of nature, combined with colours not in all instances those which nature has adopted, but harmonising with the dress with which the flowers are required to be worn; for example, the lilac may be made pink, and the pansy blue. In like manner other flowers are tinted with various hues, imparting to them an aspect partly natural and partly real.

Two dresses destined to be worn on the occasion of a New Year's ball are so extremely tasteful that a description of them may be acceptable to those of our lady readers who may be preparing for similar festivities. The dresses are for two sisters, and both are exactly alike. They are made of gaze-de-sole, having a white ground figured with Pompadour bouquets in brilliant tints of colour. The skirts are double, and without trimming; but the upper skirt is gathered up by one end of a broad pink ribbon descending from the waist and fastening up the skirt by a large bow with two flowing ends. The corsage has a stomacher front of pink silk, crossed transversely by narrow ruches of tulle. A row of blonde lace carried down each side of the stomacher forms a point in front of the waist. A marked novelty in the make of these dresses is a berthe trimmed with ruches disposed in plain rows at the back of the corsage, and forming a sort of scallop-shell on each shoulder, where the berthe terminates. It is fixed on one shoulder by a bow of pink ribbon, and on the other by a bouquet of pink and white daisies, intermingled with grass. The sleeves are formed of alternate bouillons of tulle and gaze-de-soie, and are finished at the ends by ruches of tulle. The wreaths to be worn with these dressed are mounted in the style called by the Parisian fleuristes the couronne-bergère. They are circular, and composed of pink and white daisies, mingled with sprays of grass. They are worn on one side of the head, rather backward, in the manner frequently seen in Watteau's pictures.

A ball dress, in which originality and simplicity were tastefully combined, attracted much admiration a few evenings since in Paris. It was worn by a young bride, Mdme. A. de Saint R----, who, before going to the ball for which the dress was expressly prepared, appeared in her box at the Opera Italien. The dress consisted of no fewer than four double skirts of blue tulle, eached edged with a very wide ruche of blue silk. The corsage was draped in front, and without any trimmings, its only ornament being a broad band of black velvet, disposed in the manner of the Cordon Imperatrice; that is to say, it was fastened on the left shoulder and carried across the front of the corsage to the right side of the waist. The ends of this velvet band, of which one hung over the left shoulder and the other flowed at the right side of the waist, were shaped triangularly, and from each point was suspended a diamond aiguilette. On the right shoulder a bow of black velvet was fixed to the dress by a diamond brooch. The two upper skirts of the dress were gathered up on the left side by black velvet bows. The coiffure worn with this dress was composed of small lilies made of blue velvet, with silver foliage.

For the theatres and opera in Paris many ladies wear pelisses and cloaks of white or coloured satin. We have seen one of these pelisses of white satin, edged with blue marabout trimming. It had two hoods: one was of white quilted satin, intended to be drawn over the head as a protection against cold; the other was of black lace, and arranged so as to produce the effect of a Spanish mantilla, either to be worn or drawn aside at pleasure on entering the opera-box.

The Christmas season has, as usual, called forth a vast variety of beautiful evening head-dresses. One just made by a fashionable Parisian milliner, and destined for an English lady of rank, is extremely graceful and dignified. It consists of a toque of light blue velvet, having on one side a very full plume of white feathers, one of which, twisted spirally, droops as low as the shoulder. On the opposite side are suspended two pearl tassels. A wreath of ivy intended for a ball head-dress has been mounted in the antique style. Clusters of gold berries, artistically disposed here and there amongst the ivy leaves, render this simple head-dress extremely effective. Another head-dress, suitable for a lady of mature age, is made of folds of green velvet, with bows and ends of the same at each side. The ends are fringed with gold, and with the bows are intermingled gold wheat-ears.

From an elegant assortment of Parisian bonnets we may select a few for description. One, perfectly unique in style, was composed of white terry velvet. The front, of green velvet, was edged with folds of a lighter hue of green. The bavolet was edged with folds in the same style. A bow of green velvet of the two shades was placed in front of the bonnet, the ends hanging loosely at either side. The under-trimming consisted of leaves of green velvet intermingled with ruches of blonde. Another bonnet, distinguished for novelty of style, was made of black velvet, and trimmed with velvet of a bright tone of crimson. The outside trimming was formed of folds of velvet, and the under-trimming was a plaiting of carnartion-coloured velvet. This plaiting passed all round the inner edge of the bonnet, and leaves just perceptible a very narrow blonde ruche. This may seem nothing remarkable in description; but the effect is strikingly unique and becoming.


LINKS

V&A Museum, Fashion, Jewellery and Accessories

Museum of Costume, Bath

Fashion-Era: take link for 'The Victorians'

The Costume Gallery

Lee Jackson's Dictionary of Victorian London, including Clothing & Fashions

Wikipedia:
History of Fashion (category headings)
Fashion Design
Dressmaker

Other 19th century fashion and costume links from About.com


Masthead of the ILN


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