Early Victorian Fashion chit Chat - August 1840 Godey's Lady's Book

Early Victorian Fashion chit Chat - August 1840 Godey's Lady's Book

Chit Chat of Fashions

At a late drawing room held by Queen Victoria, Lady Dinorbin, late Miss Smith (no relation to our Mr. Smith,) wore the following splendid dress.

Costume de Coeur, a splendid white pompadour satin train, sprigged with rich gold and coloured boquets, and trimmed with rich gold dentelle; a rich whiteIndia muslin dress, embroiderd with fine gold, and trimmed with two volants of rich gold dentelle, over white satin. Head-dress, plume of feathers, with rich gold dentelle lappets and diamonds.

The dress of D'Israelis' wife was also very rich, at the same time remarkable for its simplicity.

A mantea of rich pale green satin, lined with white, and trimmed with blonde; body and sleeves a Medicis, superbly ornamented with a profusion of the finest diamonds; petticoat of tulle, embroidered in a novel and beautiful style, forming boquets of various colours. A head dress of feathers and blonde lappets; ornaments, a splendid suite of diamonds and emeralds.

The Queen's dress - white net over rich white satin, trimmed with blonde flounces and flowers; the body and sleeves splendidly ornamented with diamonds and blonde; train of silver tissue, richly brocaded in colours, (of Spitalfields manufacture,) trimmed with silver and blonde, and lined with white satin. Head-dress, feathers, diamonds, and lappets.

The Duchess of Northumberland - Manteau of superb lilac satin glace, lined with silk, and ornamented with a bouffant of satin, with a deep fringe of pearls surrounded with a flouncing of Spanish point lace; corsage of the same, decorated with magnificent point lace, intermixed with pearls; stomacher of diamonds; skirt of lilac aerophane over a rich satinslip of the same colour, glace, tastefully trimmed with flounces of point lace and fringes of pearls. Head-dress, feathers an point lace lappets, and magnificent tiara of diamonds; necklace and ear-rings en suite.

Caps are more or less ornamented with flowers. There are other pretty coiffures, between a cap and a turban, the crown is that of a cap; but in place of the blonde border there is a roll of gauze, exactly such as would be to a turban - it may be with or without a falling end. The flowers adoped in these caps are hop-blossoms, in every possible colour. They are placed as low as where the cap-string should come on each side. Indeed all the trimmings are worn unusually low at the sides.

Hats - The hats are getting smaller, and a more becoming shape. The front and crown seems all of one piece, and towards the back the form gradually slants, so that the back of the crown is even lower than the bonnet. These little bonnets sit very round and comfortable to the face; they come very long at the sides; the trimming is as simple as possible, or quite the contrary. Some have flowers andlace; others only a trimming of the material.

Sleeves - The plain, tight, long sleeves are coming in again decidedly, notwithstanding all that has been said against them; it must be admitted that they are sadly disadvantageous to some figures, viz., to those remarkably tall and thin, or to those inclined to embonpoint and low in stature.

Head Dresses - One of the prettiest caps that has appeared for some time, is composed of rose-coloured gauze; the caul is so very small that it does little more than cover the knot of hair behind. The front is formed of three rows of gauze bias, quilled full, and encircling the caul in such a manner as to form a diadem on the summit of the head, descending at the sides, and turning up at the back of the caul. A full knot of satin riband, with floating end, adorns one side, and a rose, with buds and foliage, ornaments the other.