WTF: Regency (Now with 20% less copyright infringement!)

It is a little-known point of 1807 etiquette that, when exposed to the naughty bits of another woman on the streets of London, propriety demanded that you immediately renounce all natural pigmentation as well as your left arm:

 Fashion plate courtesy of the University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, COS006

"Wihemina, PLEASE. Just tell me if it looks malignant. That's all I'm asking."

Her look of righteous indignation only adds to the unmistakable allure of our pallid amputee, along with the intriguing addition of a spangled bell-pull at the décolletage. (Ring for service!) Not to be outdone, the glories of Lady Violet's feminine apparatus have been further embellished by a coat trimmed in an exuberant halo of spotted Polish rat-pelt and the aggressive use of turban tassels.

One does wonder at her decision to divert focus, but perhaps they match the tassels in the front.



UPDATE 1/29/13:

This post was originally published without a source or credit. Luckily, one of the much more proficient historical fashion enthusiasts among us let me know that this is from the University of Washington. I contacted them regarding the use of this image and I'm happy to say that THEY HATH SPOKEN! (And quickly, at that.) With the proper tagline and a manic gleam of self-congratulatory compliance in my eye, I am at liberty to cull their vast and awesome collections for many, many more abuses of the WTF Fashion Plate variety in the future.

Now, you may all return to your erotic fantasies of the cast of Downton Abbey.