About the Look

This 1874 afternoon dress of a vibrant midnight blue silk showcases a full skirt that falls straight in the front and comes out at a right angle in the bustled back (Fig. 1). The fitted basque or cuirass-like bodice remains figure-hugging past the natural waist until hip level and is concluded with narrow yellow piping. From underneath the bodice’s small lapels, yellow pleated panels, stretching from center front to the princess seams, reach until bust level. Hanging tassels and fringe–both bullion braided and traditional–finish off the buttermilk-colored panels, mixing in an array of pale yellow, baby blue, and midnight blue (Fig. 2). The garment’s proper high neck features a layer of ruffled cream-colored tulle, which peeks out in an elegant fashion. Beneath the ruffle, the same piping used at the lapels, base of the sleeves, and base of the bodice lines the neckline, which is closed up to the throat by buttons in baby blue and midnight blue (Fig. 2). The bodice is tied off with a yellow and blue fringed neck scarf tied in an elaborate, slightly off-center knot. The dress’s tight-fitting sleeves are treated in an equally elaborate fashion, decorated with baby blue buttons, yellow bows, fringe, and tassels (Fig. 3). The sleeves are concluded with ruffles piped in yellow, and a layer of the same cream tulle peeks out from underneath (Fig. 3). The back of the bodice is flared out almost horizontally due to the dress’s large bustle (Fig. 1), and pointed pockets on the back princess seams composed of accent yellow silk add interest to the otherwise plain rear view (Figs. 4-5). The dress showcases a relatively unadorned skirt, except for the interesting detail of the blue and yellow diagonal tucks bordering the base of the garment (Fig. 6).

In accordance with the transition from frilly, crinoline gowns to simpler adornments and bustled silhouettes, this brilliant blue afternoon dress would have been fairly fashionable in its day. Like the woman who once wore this dress, Renoir was enthralled by the vibrant colors that were fashionable in womenswear at the time, as he portrays a beautiful, if conservative, Parisienne (Fig. 9) wearing a gown in a matching shade to the afternoon dress. Looking further than the common color of the dresses, an 1874 silk dress in the Met’s collection (Fig. 10) shares a similar silhouette to the dress in discussion, as both garments have tailored bodices, decorative high necklines, and skirts drawn to lay flat in the front and bustled in the back. In these similarities, one can glean that the wearer of the afternoon dress was a woman of respectable character who kept up well with the trends of the time and was as elegantly modest as Renoir’s Parisienne.

In like manner, figure 10 showcases the back view of a dress nearly identical to the one being discussed, as both garments are dyed to achieve an eye-catching blue and are fitted in cuirass fashion using princess seams. The long, slightly trained, and relatively unadorned skirts of figure 10 and the afternoon dress are remarkably similar, yet each wearer could show off her individual style through the use of trimmings. According to Godey’s Lady’s Book from 1874, dresses that were en vogue were:

“made with a skirt perfectly flat in front and at the sides… the back part of the skirt, trained and very ample, is all gathered or plaited within a space of eight inches. The front of the dress is fully trimmed, but the back remains quite plain, and flowing naturally” (102).

Thus, it seems evident that the wearer of the afternoon dress would have been quite stylish and tasteful in her relative abstinence from excessive adornment on the rear of her skirt. Proving equally fashionable, an 1874 fashion plate in Le Monde elegant (Fig. 11) features a brown and blue dress that has the same plain skirt as the afternoon dress. Both garments have little detail in their skirts, allowing the slight trains to make a statement as opposed to flounces and frills. Moreover, the dress depicted in figure 11 possesses paneling details in the same bold shade as the afternoon dress, further exhibiting the popularity of this color during 1874.