La Parisienne — Alfred Stevens Garden Postcard

Spring light falls through flowering fruit trees as a red-haired young woman pauses on a garden path in a pale yellow-green silk gown trimmed with lace, a black bonnet crowned with white flowers, and a closed, tasselled parasol hanging from her wrist. A small grey dog sits at her feet, watching her.

‘La Parisienne’ turns fashion into a small essay on the season itself — new blossoms, a young dog, a gown timed exactly to spring. Stevens was celebrated for portraits like this one, where costume detail carries as much meaning as pose or expression.

A fitting card to send when the first blossoms open where you live.