Two-piece dress
c. 1887
Silk twill
Museum purchase
Object number2005.81.1
The soft, loosely-draped bodice of this dress suggests the absence of a corseted understructure. With its muted colors and smocking at the neck, waist, and cuffs, it reflects the influence of the Aesthetic counterculture on fashion. But this dress does have a built-in bustle structure, typical of the period.
DescriptionAesthetic dress in off white silk twill with muted vertical stripes of black and light blue pinstripes; full, unstructured bodice with self ruffle collar, cuffs and hem, and linear and triangular hand smocking, long puffed sleeves, CB closure; floor length full skirt with smocked hip yoke, underskirt with self pleated hem ruffle, muslin lining articulated at back for bustle effectCollections
Exhibitions