1818 Walking Dress, Ackermanns
Fashion print is from the March 1818 issue of Ackermann’s Repository of Arts fashion magazine. The image to the right is the original plate, faded and yellowed over time. Below is the fashion plate as refined by me.
The print was described in the magazine as follows:
“A fawn-coloured poplin gown made half-length: the back is plain, and the front wraps a little to the left side; the body is trimmed with two rows of white satin ribbon painted in natural flowers. Plain long sleeve, finished at the wrist to correspond. The bottom of the skirt is very tastefully trimmed with painted ribbon interspersed with bows. Head-dress a small gipsy hat composed of cork, cut in the same manner as willow-shavings, ornamented with a bunch of cork flowers coloured to resemble nature, and a full plume of fawn-coloured feathers. A small round cap is worn under the hat; it has a full quilling of net around the face. We must observe that the hat is not lined, but has a row of painted ribbon put round the inside of the brim, which resembles at a distance a wreath of flowers. Fawn-colored kid slippers and gloves, and a rich silk shawl, complete this dress.”
Poplin, also called tabinet (or tabbinet), is a strong fabric in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswise ribs that typically gives a corded surface. Poplin traditionally consisted of a silk warp with a weft of worsted yarn. In poplin the weft is in the form of a stout cord, giving the fabric a ridged structure, adding depth and softness to the lustre of the silky surface.
I don’t think I could ever wear the hat but would love the outfit. I wish some talented person would make patterns of the garments. There is a sameness to the patterns that one doesn’t see in the illustrations.
They are beautiful, but my shorts certainly make my daily walks easier.