1869 Comtesse de Pourtalès by Augustin Aimé Joseph Lejeune (Musée d'Orsay - Paris France)

First I enlarged it by half, then removed spots with Photoshop and finally "threw in the kitchen sink" to detail-enhance this image.

Hello Dolly

The Countess is wearing a modified robe à la polonaise, a "Dolly Varden" dress, with a pair of pouffs behind and just an apron in front (a real polonaise was a trilobite with three symmetrically placed pouffs) while a robe à la circassienne had one lobe to the back. A Dolly Varden dress was an 1869-1870s re-creation of the robe à la circassienne or robe à la polonaise. According to Wikipedia, "Dolly Varden is a character from Charles Dickens's 1839 historical novel Barnaby Rudge set in 1780."

Keywords:  Lejeune, Comtesse Melanie de Pourtalès, Countess, Pourtalès family, French, floral hat, high neckline, vest, elbow length full sleeves, cuffs, full skirt, under-skirt, apron, midi-length skirt, ruching, shoes, robe à la polonaise, Dolly Varden dress

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