Peterson's Magazine, July 1878

Time for a quick trip back to the 19th century...

The artist has posed his models in a seaside setting, but none of the clothes depicted look suitable for the beach.

Fig. I. —A house dress of blue silk; the front is trimmed with three narrow knife-plaitings; the back breadths are laid in a number of narrow plaits, which are stitched-down near the bottom, and form a fan-shaped train; the over-dress of white bѐrѐge has a long plain front, edged with white blonde lace; the bѐrѐge corsage is worn over a low, blue silk corsage; it has two plaitings at the back, but the front is made as a close-fitting basque; the half sleeves are trimmed with three plaitings of the bѐrѐge.

(This definitely sounds nothing like the kind of "house dress" worn to do housework!  "Berege" (usually printed without the accents) is a light silk and wool blend.)

Fig. II—Walking-dress of cream-colored bunting; the lower-skirt is trimmed with one deep-plaited flounce, trimmed with a cardinal red and black figured braid; the long over-dress is turned up about half a yard at the bottom, in front, and is trimmed with the same braid; the long, back breadth is simply looped; deep cuirass made quite plain with half-long sleeves, and trimmed with cardinal red buttons and ribbons.  Hat of yellow straw, with long gauze veil and cardinal red flowers.  Long black lace mitts.

(The "cuirass" bodice was a long, sheath-like bodice that fitted over the hips.  It was popular from the late 1870s into the 1880s.)

Fig. III—Afternoon dress of pink silk made short; the front has three plaited ruffles, and the back is laid in straight plaits; over-dress of thin, white muslin, trimmed with wide insertion of imitation Valenciennes lace; the basque is deep, and the skirt is set on at the bottom of the basque in order to prevent the effect of the double muslin below the waist.  Scarf mantalet of the muslin, trimmed with two goffered ruffles.  Straw bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon and pink flowers.

("Made short" in this context seems to mean "without a train".  A "mantalet" was a short cape or woman's shoulder covering, usually longer in the front than in the back.)

Fig. IV—Afternoon dress of blue grenadine over blue silk or percale.  The under-dress is made quite plain in front, and has one plaited ruffle, reaching from side to side; the over-dress is very short in front, and is looped on the left side, scarf fashion; the over-dress at the back (coming from under the scarf drapery) is quite long; the mantalet and over-dress are all trimmed with knife-plaitings of grenadine, trimmed with bands of white grenadine figured in blue.  Black straw hat, trimmed with blue ribbon.

(Grenadine was a fabric made either of loosely woven silk, or a combination of wool and silk.)

Fig. V—House dress of black silk, with a light yellow, brocaded gauze over-dress; the over-dress is made polonaise, quite long, and is trimmed down the back and around the bottom with insertion and blonde lace; the deep side trimmings on the back are finished with knots of black and light yellow satin ribbon; the sleeves are of black silk, half-long, and trimmed like the skirt; long, black kid gloves.

(The late Victorians loved reviving historical fashions!  In the 18th century a "polonaise" was a skirt and bodice cut in one, with the skirts looped up at the back.  In the 1870s a polonaise was overskirt attached to a bodice, which hung strait at the front, looped up at the sides and draped at the back.)

Since women's fashions of the 1870s placed the emphasis on the back of the dress, all but one of the figures in the fashion plate above are turned away from the reader!