Ensemble
By the late 1860s, this homage to the eighteenth century could only have been conceived and made with some intentionality and disposition to the historical. Eighteenth-century ruching flutters and balloons out the back of the overskirt to allow for the skirt's full volume. The striped taffeta with self-devices for decoration reinforces the presence of the eighteenth century. By the 1860s the sewing machine and other apparel technology offered extravagance in decoration for a newly modest cost. This dress seeks to include every flourish and luxury of the eighteenth century hitherto unaffordable in nineteenth-century bourgeois clothing. Ironically, new technology was first used to emulate old styles.
Artwork Details
- Title: Ensemble
- Date: ca. 1869
- Culture: American
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Gift of Deane and Sydney Litwalk, 1984
- Object Number: 1984.594a–d
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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