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Dolly Varden
fictional character
Dolly Varden, fictional character, a gaily dressed coquette in the novel Barnaby Rudge (1841) by Charles Dickens.
Dolly’s memorable costumes led to the naming for her of a style of 19th-century woman’s ensemble consisting of a wide-skirted, tight-bodiced print dress worn with a white fichu (light triangular scarf) and a flowered hat with a wide, drooping brim. She was also commemorated in the naming of the brightly coloured Dolly Varden trout.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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