It’s February.
Storm Darcy has roared in across Europe from the Ukraine, stealing through the gates of Sydney gardens and across the lawns, pressing against the firmly shut doors of the Holburne.
Here, in the illustration of “The Three Graces” (1810), we see satirical cartoonist James Gillray has lovingly drawn scantily clad figures of fine, probably frozen Regency ladies dressed in Grecian style gowns.
Influenced by Parisian fashions after the French Revolution, delicate gauzy creations could, should the wind be in the right direction, become trapped in extremely awkward places.
A solution to this sartorial embarrassment (although one might imagine a bucket of cold water on any future romance) was the invisible petticoat: a pale pink knitted jersey tube worn from the waist down to the knees.
I can’t but imagine what fun a contemporary Gillray might have with Doc Martens and Puffa jackets as we struggle along like caterpillars in the snow.
