I feel like everyone is talking about reviving the flapper aesthetic for the 20s, when there is clearly only one “twenties” fashion that needs to be brought back…
Juliane Elise Larpent, née Mathiesen, painted by Louis Aumont in 1827.
The portrait of Juliane Elise by top portraitist Aumont was possibly painted when she became of age to marry, or as newly engaged - the way she displays the ring on her left hand makes it a plausible marriage motif. It’s painted two years before she married Isaac Larpent.
The portrait shows her in a black dress with narrow waist, scissor draped bodice front, gigot sleeves and with prominent gold jewellery. The belt buckle is particularly interesting, as it survived until recent years as a family heirloom.
The black dress has a striking similarity to a greyish blue dinner dress dated to ca. 1830, and sold through Cora Ginsburg in New York in 2017. The scissor draped front, narrow waist and gigot sleeves corresponds well, and it even has a corresponding belt buckle.
If looking closer, it becomes clear the hem is a patchwork of scraps, though the flower pattern appears fairly continued. This dress is an example of rich 18th century silk brocades being re-used in a later century and for a new fashion. Although light cotton fabrics are the “typical” look of a Regency dress, a fine silk like this would definitely have been appreciated, and it has been utilized in the best possible manner.
I suspect the ruffle on the hem and the sleeves is original pieces from the previous garment. But other details, like the skillfully tabbed and puffed sleeves, looks like a brand new detail.
(For more specific dating, most of these look 1820s with maaaaybe a few late 1810s or early 1830s scattered in there)
(You can tell because skirt volume is starting to increase from the 1800s-1810s “column” silhouette, that classic Regency look, and the waist is slowly descending back to almost its natural position. The later 1820s images also show the beginnings of 1830s Poofy Sleeves)
