Fashion was a popular subject of satire for eighteenth-century caricaturists, and outrageous styles appear frequently in comic prints. Gillray is best known for biting political satires, but in this piece he satirizes a fashionable society woman, fully dressed for an evening out, with her fan, gloves, jewelry and a hat topped with enormous plumes.

The dress that allows her to nurse her child is a long, flowing, and quite revealing version of the stylish chemise, here made absurd but based on real historical designs.  Lactating mothers of the eighteenth century commonly wore chemises slit (once) from neck to waistline and held together with tied strings.  Considered too similar to underwear, chemises were at first deemed indecent for public dress.  It was noted that the transparent material and high waistlines immodestly revealed and accentuated the breasts, a characteristic Gillray emphasizes with a profile view.

Ann Millett and Chandra Mosley