Advent Calendar: 4 December – Winter Fashion
Illustration of English fashion for the month of December in 1832, from The Royal Lady’s Magazine and Archives of the Court of St. James’s (rper AP4.R6L2 Volume IV).
In the dedication to the Queen, the proprietors and editor claimed their ambition for the Lady’s Magazine to be “To raise the female mind of the England to its true level.”
The magazine included a range of subjects and also featured a regular fashion section advising its readers as to the latest styles for the month. In December, the evening dress pictured here is described as “A dress of Pomona green Irish poplin. The corsage is extremely low, and open en pointe both before and behind”, while the carriage dress is “a pelisse-robe of claret cachemire Francais.”
Dear Special Collections I am very much enjoying opening each day of your Advent Calendar, but there must be an error somewhere: a magazine that purports to be for December 1832, could hardly be dedicated to Queen Victoria, who came to the throne in 1837! Perhaps it was dedicated to ‘Princess Victoria’ though in 1832 she was probably too young still to be ‘into fashion’. Perhaps it was dedicated to Queen Adelaide, a quiet, gentle lady. >
Dear Julia, you are quite right, the magazine was dedicated to Queen Adelaide. Thank you for correcting our error. It is great to hear that you are enjoying our Advent posts. We hope you enjoy the rest of the Advent Calendar.