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All The Rage In 1812
by Lynne Belluscio
The turban was all the fashion in 1812. Dolley Madison, the president’s wife, wore a velvet and satin turban, trimmed with two “towering” feathers for her husband’s inaugural. Jacob LeRoy’s mother-in-law, Charlotte Downes Otis, had her portrait painted with a rather large turban on her head. (We do not own the original portrait, but in 1944, Edward A. LeRoy donated a sketch of the portrait to the Historical Society.)
From the cut of the dress, I suspect that the portrait was done in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The turban was very popular from the 1790s through the 1820s. In England this was known as the “Regency” period – the time of Jane Austin. The term Regency refers to the period when King George III had become unfit to rule and his son, who would later become George IV, ruled as “Regent.”
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Meanwhile in France, Napoleon had come to power after the French Revolution and it was known as the “Empire” period. And dresses had raised “empire” waistlines.
The turban was often more like a hat, rather than wrapped around the head, although I did find an interesting video on utube that shows how to wrap a turban in the manner of the 19th Century, complete with the addition of a large feather. Some turbans were tight to the head, shaped like a bee-hive. Others were more like a sack or a “liberty cap” worn during the French Revolution. These turbans were similar to the hats worn by the ancient Greeks.
Other turbans, like Charlotte Otis’ were large and wide, similar to those worn by men in the Middle East. Some of the fashion illustrations show turbans with matching shawls. Both had become much more popular and important fashion accessories after Napoleon conquered Egypt in 1804. The turban and the long shawl became so popular, that even English women wore them and it wasn’t long before the turban and shawl were all the rage in America.
