Maggie Prescott, the fictional fashion editor in the film Funny Face, may have declared 1957 the year to “think pink!” but pink clearly appealed to fashionistas long before the mid-20th century. Ackermann’s fashion plates for April of 1814 feature pink in abundance. “Pale ruby” and “blossom-coloured” are the words used to describe the pinks of the mantle, hat, and half-boots of plate 24’s Promenade Dress, but pink they surely are. As is the petite footrest, the flowers on the embroidered screen, and the single blossom in the hair of the lady featured in Plate 25, all of which add a touch of color to the plate’s all-white Morning Dress.
Sleeves in the spring of 1814 are “not so full as of late,” the description of plate 24 notes, although it is difficult to discern just how full said sleeve is, as it is covered by the lady’s mantle. I’ll keep an eye out as I post the rest of 1814’s plates, to see if this trend for less full sleeves continues.
Once again, no fabric samples in this issue, only needlework patterns. Said patterns show a clear shift away from the neoclassical, and toward the more naturalistic. Another trend int he making? 
