Merveilleuse: Capote de Perkale surmontée d’un fichu de Gaze; Robe de Perkale

Hand-colored engraving with design for the costume of a Merveilleuse, part of the book "Incroyables et Merveilleuses," with 33 costume plates designed by Horace Vernet and engraved by Georges Jacques Gatine, published ca. 1815 in Paris. The costume in this plate consists of a white "capote" with a white fichu with pink striped borders wrapped around it, a white, mid-calf length, empire cut dress, white hose with thin, chevron stripes, and pink flat shoes with ankle straps and small bows on the points. The capote, a kind of bonnet introduced towards the end of the 18th century and widely worn during the following one, has a long crown that extends upwards at the top of the head, made up of puffy layers of white fabric, and a round, ample tail made up of white lace with zig-zagging edges, covering the back of the neck. The dress has short puff sleeves, and is bordered by groups of thin, horizontal stripes, separated by strips of semi-abstract bundles of flowers; the waist is marked by a belt of alternating white and pink ovals, with pairs of pink stripes running across it, forming a small bow at the back of the waistline and leaving its two long tails flow down the back of the dress. Another white fichu with pink striped borders, matching the one tied around the capote, is diagonally tied across the chest. Long gloves, covering the hands and arms past the elbows, complete the outfit.