The Wasp — 1887 — page 396: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts a woman in elaborate Victorian dress leading a procession of elaborately dressed figures—men in top hats and formal wear, plus figures holding parasols and ornamental accessories. The caption "And Her Train" is a visual pun: rather than a traditional bridal train (the fabric trail of a wedding dress), this woman's "train" consists of fashionable society figures who follow her. The satire likely mocks either a specific wealthy or socially prominent woman, or more broadly critiques the vanity and excess of high society, where women accumulate retinues of admirers and hangers-on. The exaggerated costumes and theatrical poses emphasize the superficiality and performative nature of upper-class social display in the Gilded Age.