"One night, when the late Duchess of Kingston appeared at Ranelagh in a dress which may be compared with the undress of some of our fashionable _belles_, a _handkerchief_ was thrown to her, not from the Prince, but the Princess of Wales."--(_Times, March 5, 1796._) "Lady Godiva's Rout, or Peeping Tom spying out Pope Joan," is by Gillray, 12th March 1796, and is a scathing satire on the extremely _decolletée_, and diaphonous, dresses of the time. The fair one, whose uncovered bosom so attracts the candle snuffer, is intended to represent Lady Georgiana Gordon, afterwards Duchess of Bedford. "High Change in Bond Street" is by Gillray (27th March 1796), and is a most amusing caricature of the then prevalent fashions both of men and women. The "Bond Street Loungers," are depicted to perfection. [Illustration: Waggoners Frock-or-No Bodys of 1795.] [Illustration: The Fashion.--Dec{r}. 1795.] [Illustration: Fashionable Modesty.--1796.] [Illustration: High Change in Bond Street--1796.] "At the late Fandango Ball in Dublin, a certain Lady of Fashion appeared in the following very whimsical dress:--Flesh coloured pantaloons, over which was a gauze petticoat, tucked up at each side in drapery, so that both thighs could be seen; the binding of the petticoat was tied round the neck, and her arms were through the pocket holes. Her head dress was a man's pearl coloured stocking, the foot hanging down at the back of the head like a lappet, and in the heel of the stocking was stuck a large diamond pin, the _tout ensemble_ not less novel, than ludicrous."--(_Times, May 26, 1796._) * * * * * "_Whalebone-Veils_ are worn by all the fashionable dames at Weymouth. This invention is evidently borrowed from the head of a one horse chaise."--(_Times, August 27, 1796._) * * * * * "_High heels_ are once more the rage; there is, however, no scarcity of _flats_. During the reign of the _flat sole_, the Ladies make more faux-pas than ever, so that we need entertain no apprehensions for them, if they chuse to get upon stilts. What with high heels and high feathers, the _better half_ of many an honest man is just one third part of herself."--(_Times, August 27, 1796._) * * * * * "Fashion would be its own murderer, if it were to be constant and permanent. The last year's dress seems to abdicate entirely; even the waist is walking down towards the hip; and three straps, with buckles in front, have abridged so much of the usurpation of the petticoat. One cannot see so many Ladies of high ton with the straps over the bosom, without thinking how much better they might have been employed over the shoulders."--(_Times, Aug. 27, 1796._) * * * * *