A Change in the Petticoats, or the Years 1780 &1817
Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry') British
Publisher Thomas Tegg British
Not on view
This fashion satire responds to the short skirts that became fashionable in London around 1817. At left, a mature woman represents the modes of yore in an enormous hooped petticoat, a long pointed stomacher, and a calash hood worn over a large plain cap. She is amazed by a modern young woman who adopts a fashionable stooped posture (also seen in Heath's "Belle's and Beaus, or a Scene in Hyde Park," 1817 (1970.541.148)). Bared breasts and shoulders are accentuated by a high waisted dress with large bishop sleeves. Below, a projecting skirt that ends above the knees and exposes flat slippers fastened with ribbons. On the head, a bonnet with a scooped brim and cylindrical crown is trimmed with flowers and feathers.
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