Waterhouse’s “Lady of Shalott” Painting

I got my picture of the lady of Shalott down off my wall and examined it. The sleeves do look set in. I can barely make out the seam attaching the sleeve to the dress– it’s on top of the shoulder, not dropped. The sleeves fit very close to the arm right up to the shoulder and the under arm. The checky pattern on the biceps looks more like and arm band than trim. It seems to sit on top of the dress. And, like the Accolade, the dress is closely fitted with no sign of side lacing. There are wrinkles on the side, which could be because the lady is sitting. The skirt is definitely gathered to the bodice under a wide black belt. It’s interesting that her gown appears totally different to me now that I’ve looked at it closely.
–Lydia
Message #759, January 24, 2003