Lovely at home dress. The following notes about this portrait appear in Ribeiro and Cumming, "The Visual History of Costume," p. 140 (1989), "Note - Mary Edwards was a slightly eccentric heiress depicted in the kind of rich and jeweled magnificence which is rarely seen in English portraiture. Head - The headdress is a mob cap, with ostentatiously wide lappets, and frames the face. Body - The same lace edges the kerchief and forms the chemise ruffles. Fine Flemish lace was an essential and expensive part of the fashionable wardrobe during the first half of the 18th century; Mrs. Delaney records in 1753 paying nearly fifty pounds for a 'suit' of Brussels lace, comprising headdress, ruffles, and tucker. The dress is a brilliant red damask closed sack worn over a large bell-shaped hoop. Accessories - The jewelry consists of an impressive necklace of pearls and diamonds(ribbon bows and the pendant cross were popular designs), diamond bodice buckle, and diamond drop earrings; at her waist is a gold watch in an elaborately chased case."