April wallpaper: Difficult color, green
March 28, 2009
April’s wallpaper is now available for download from Solitary Elegance! After several months of standing, these two models (an 1812 ball dress and 1809 full dress) are taking their seats for a well-earned rest. This month’s General Observations on Fashion takes on red cloaks and anything pea-green, demonstrating that snarking about fashion is as timeless as fashion itself.
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Difficult indeed! Try dying your own.Wool or whatever fabric.Here in America out textile industry was in its infancy.To get real Bottle Green Wool for my 1812 U.S. Army R.o.R Uniform I have to order from England!
James
I’ve an idea Madame Lanchester ceased as Ackermann’s fashion editor March-April, 1809. To speculate, the General Observations are a swipe at Madame’s penhant for pea-green…A bunfight between fashion Modistes ?
As I think green is very Springy, I’d vote for Madame Lanchester. 
The Bristish fair ? Reminds me of Napoleon’s supposed remark Britain was a nation of shopkeepers !
I must know. Is the title a reference to Gosford Park, and the ever-excellent Dame Maggie Smith, or am I COMPLETELY off my rocker here?!
You are correct, Linda! When I was transcribing the attack on green, Dame Maggie’s scene came to mind.
‘So many Veils on Vulgar heads’. A fashion snark by Jane, yes ? ;D
Dear Heather
Thanks so much for the lovely wallpapers. I dutifully change mine each month and look forward to them and to the fashion comments.
They would reach a true pinnacle of perfection if the left-hand lady could move more center. Alas! on my computer she is often covered up by all those pesky desktop icons.
Oh! I just love the quotation!
I was wondering about fashion in “Northanger Abbey”:
Should it follow the period when it was written or the period when it was published? Or maybe it wasn’t that different anyway?
Thank you in advance to whom answers this
Allison — oh no; I’m sorry! I do wonder if the wallpapers look all right on computers other than mine. This month it was a little tricky making room for the furniture, but next month’s ladies will be standing and the left-hand lady will be scooted closer to the center.
Nuria — good question. The fashions had changed quite a bit between when Northanger Abbey was first submitted for publication and when it was finally published. Cathy Decker’s Regency Fashion publications page has several galleries of fashion plates which are useful for comparing the different styles. See the Lady’s Magazine, Lady’s Monthly Museum, and Gallery of Fashion for early examples, and La Belle Assemblee and Ackermann’s Repository for later styles.
As for which would be more “correct” … would Jane have wanted to leave Northanger Abbey set where it originally was (at a time when Ann Radcliffe and Udolpho were at their most popular) or would she have updated it to 1816 or even later (had she lived long enough to edit it to her satisfaction and attempt republishing)? I don’t know. I tend to think she would have left it earlier, but that’s just my opinion.
Thank you so much for doing these wallpapers. My 4- and 6-year old look forward to the new one every month. In fact, my six-year-old almost missed the bus today because she wanted to make the screen say April before she went.
I loved the general observations on fashion. I’ll never look on the 1995 Kitty and Lydia in their red cloaks the same way, although I think that particular Lydia looked great in it.
Thank you so much for your reply, Heather. It has been a great help.
Thank you for designing these charming wallpapers and sharing them with us.
By the way, I didn’t mean I “only” liked the quotation, but I loved this particular quotation a lot
Heather, these wallpapers are so wonderful, that I replaced Richard Armitage with them! I just move my icons around if they cover up the ladies.