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In the early 19th century it was often described as a carriage and walking or promenade dress, when driving in carriages through Hyde Park was fashionable; and in the Victorian period as a carriage or visiting dress, when it was worn for paying calls. There were frequent depictions of carriage dress by the 1840s, when women often took it instead of walking. It was a fashionable dress and outerwear ensemble made in cheerful colours with a small parasol in summer, often with jointed handle so it could be folded away.