One of my favorite Ackermann illustrations is of this lush walking dress, taken from Ackermann’s Costume Plates: Women’s Fashions in England, 1818-1828, and which I purchased about eight years ago. Introduced by Stella Blum, the book comes with plates and the original captions. This publication provides a glossary; however, the definitions I used below are slightly different, as I found them on the web.
(Double click on image to view a larger version.)
A round dress composed of thin jaconet muslin, over a pale peach-coloured slip: the body of the gown is made high, and is trimmed with triple fall of lace at the throat. The bottom of the skirt is flounced with rich French work, which is surmounted by a rouleau of muslin and this rouleau is headed by fancy trimming. The spencer worn with this dress is composed of white stripe lutestring; the fronts are richly ornamented with braiding. The headdress, a leghorn hat, the brim large, and turned up behind in a soft roll in the French style; the crown is ornamented with four rouleaux of peach-coloured satin twined with white cord. White kid shoes, and straw-coloured gloves.
(Caption taken from the original Ackermann’s: Ackermann’s Costume Plates: Women’s Fashions in England, 1818-1828, Edited and with an introduction by Stella Blum, page 1, ISBN 0-486-23960-0)
- Jaconet:a lightweight cotton cloth with a smooth and slightly stiff finish; used for clothing and bandages.
- Rouleau:a roll of ribbon; anything rolled up in cylindrical form.
- Lutestring: A plain, stout, lustrous silk, used for ladies’ dresses and for ribbon.
- Kidskin, kid: soft smooth leather from the hide of a young goat; “kid gloves”
Jane Austen's World 
Thanks for such a great website. I visit often.
I am an illustrator working on a cover for my 94-year-old mother’s marvelous book. It’s about a romance between a headstrong Englishwoman banished to relatives in Ireland, where she meets an Irish rebel. This takes place just after the potato famine; the novel ends in America after the civil war.
I’m having a terrible time trying to discover what a headstrong woman might have worn to scale an Irish peak in 1850. I can find fashion plates for walking dress, but can’t seem to get a real notion of what an ‘advanced’ or ‘bluestocking’ lady might have worn. Any ideas?
Best,
Hannah
Hannah,
So nice to know you stop by regularly. I don’t have the answer for you, but this group might: The Regency Society Community Board for the Regency Obsessed. I would ask this question of the costume group. They know regency fashion backwards and forwards, and this is an active group.
Good luck!
Dear Ms. Place Actually I was interested in contacting Hannah
Hinchman because the book she is illustrating sounds like a very interesting read. I would love to know the title and when it will be out. The teachers at my work place love reading new novels we kinda have a book club going on . Thanks Mary Nadeau