18 century fashion icon: Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire .

Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire was one of the most famous ladies of the Georgiana era. Known for her beauty and sense of style and fashionable clothes, she was a trendsetter of the time, an icon. She was also famous for her political activism. Friend of Queen Marie Antoinette and ancestor of Lady Diana, Princess of Wells. Georgiana was painted several times by both Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.

The 1785 Thomas Gainsborough painting of Lady Georgiana with the famous large black hat, witch immediately become very fashionable and came to be known as the 'Gainsborough' or 'portrait' hat.

Portrait of Lady Georgiana,her sister Lady Henrietta Frances and her brother George John Spencer, Viscount Althorp. 1774

Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire  (1775)

1761-62 Lady Georgiana Spencer who became the famous Duchess of Devonshire as a child by Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsboroguh - Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire (1783)

Duchess of Devonshire by Joshua Reynolds (1783) 

with her sister Lady Henrietta Frances

Lady Georgiana with her sister Lady Henrietta Frances

Lady Georgiana as Diana

The fashionable headpieces of the time, among them the 'Gainsborough' or 'portrait' hat, the trend Georgiana created.

A picture hat, also sometimes known as a Gainsborough hat, is an elaborate woman's hat with a wide brim. It has been suggested that the name may be derived from the way the broad brim frames the face to create a 'picture'.

This is a very broad category of hat; some versions may be similar to the halo or cartwheel hat. This style featured in virtually every decade of the 20th century, and has a history dating back to at least the 18th century.

1785-87 Thomas Gainsborough - Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

The picture hat was first popularised as a style at the end of the 18th century and is said to have been inspired by the hats seen on portraits of society women painted by Thomas Gainsborough. It was then often known as the Gainsborough Chapeau. Other names included garden hat.These early hats were large, with a wide brim and were designed to perch on top of the lavish hairstyles popular during this era. Hats incorporated details such as feathers and trims – some are said to have even included whole stuffed birds.

The picture hat became fashionable again from the end of the 19th century – popularised in images of Gibson Girls in the United States and Canada and in the Gaiety Girls of the London theatre.

1785  Mr and Mrs William Hallett (The Morning Walk)

                                                 George Romney - Lady Milnes 1788

                                   Mary Constance by Sir William Beechey  1782-87

 Lady by George Romney 1786

                                    Baroness Crussol by Louise-Elisabeth Videe Lebrun 1875

                            Portrait of a Lady Wearing an Elaborate Hat   1785-90

                                          Thomas Gainsborough. -Mrs. Sarah Siddons 1785

                                 Equestrian portrait of María Teresa de Vallabriga 1783