Fashion Plates of Ball Dress


Left: Ball Dress with Shawl and Turban, 1805, from Journal des Dames et des Modes, also called Costume Parisien, 1797-1839. The words above and below this illustration (not visible in this cropped image) read "An 13. Costume Parisien. Turban de Drap d'Or. Aigrette d'Oiseau de Paradis." The lady's feet reveal that we are seeing the back of this dress, not the front. The dress dips to a low v on the back. The collar of lace is vaguely in the Tudor style, while the short sleeves are trimmed with puffy rouleaux. The shawl is clearly a cashmere shawl in the popular pine style, a style that we see in the portrait of Josephine wearing a dress made from a cashmere shawl and wearing another.

Right: Ball Dress, 1817, from Wiener Modenzeitung, later called Wiener Zeitschrift fur Kunst, Literatur und Mode, 1816-1848. This ball dress is heavily trimmed with green satin petals and satin roses. Lace forms the collar of the dress and decorates the gloves. More satin roses are worn in the hair.


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