Regency Fashions - Free Vintage Images

These are very antique -- two fashion illustrations from 1813, which is during what is called the Regency era.  The first, with the fabulous blue cape, is a "morning dress."  The second is a gorgeous ball gown fashionable for the period.  It seems to be adorned with pearls and other "bling."

I've always thought the dresses of this period looked much more comfortable than the later Victorian styles!  I would actually wear either of these (somewhere).  These would have been fashionable right around the time Jane Austen was publishing her novels. 

These are drawings with watercolor, and the originals are a little "soft" in detail. 
Emily

Summertime Gals at the Seashore

Happy Summer! Here are two summertime sisters enjoying the beach.  It's a nice pose, symmetrical with pretty colors and an interesting rope frame, and of course the bathing beauty costumes are great.
This is a popular card, so maybe you've seen the image before, but I wanted to share something appropriate for the first day of Summer.  Please enjoy, and please credit/link Emily's Image Garden! Thank you!

Emily

Art Deco 1920s Corset Ad

Another corset ad, this one from a shop on Fifth Avenue in New York in the early 1920s.  It doesn't actually show the corset, but it's so cute!
"Goodwin corsets provide the most desirable foundation for the gown."
So-called "foundation garments" were a standard part of women's wardrobes for decades to come, well into the 1960s.  How do you think Joan Holloway looked so fabulous gliding through the office on Mad Men? 

Victorian Corsets Vintage Advertising

Always popular, vintage advertising of corsets for the fashionable Victorian lady.  These could be found in the London shop of Mrs. Addley Bourne, which in addition to ladies' garments manufactured and supplied bridal items and baby linens.

This is an older scan that someone sent me, and the clarity of the printing is not quite what I like, but it's so charming I thought I would share anyway.  I'm always on the lookout for more corset pictures...

Victorian Ladies: 1896 Chicago

I haven't decided whether these three fashionable Victorian ladies are sisters or friends.  They don't look much alike, but they are certainly dressed for something special.  Love the hats!