Harriet Lane, the single (orphaned) niece of bachelor President James Buchanan, served as the “first lady of the land” during his presidency (1857-1861). She was an accomplished hostess and a fashion trendsetter. This marble portrait, by William Henry Rinehart, highlights Lane’s bare shoulders above a deeply plunging neckline, a style she made fashionable when she altered her inauguration ball gown by lowering it two full inches. She added a strip of lace at the neckline, which is called a “Bertha,” which became a fast fad.
Harriet Lane (1830- 1903) in an 1860 photograph. She did not wear much jewelry or ruffles but was fond of floral headdresses and low necklines, that revealed her shoulders and toned arms.
Readers: I will be blogging about people from the American Civil War Era as I have written a new nonfiction history about those times, When People Were Things, to be published in late spring. Watch this space.
Lisa's History Room 