Woman's Dresscirca 1908

Not on view

Ivory-white full-length dress on a mannequin, with ruched sleeves, petal-shaped bodice panels, and scrolling starfish trim along the hem, paired with a matching gathered turban hat

Ivory white dress displayed on a mannequin, rear view, with a fitted bodice, long sleeves, and full skirt trailing to the floor; hem decorated with swirling scrollwork appliqué; high collar and back closure visible.

Historic cream-white dress displayed on a white mannequin against a black background, featuring applied fabric trim in looping decorative patterns across the bodice, gathered sleeves with spiral fabric wrapping, lace collar, and a fitted waist with ornamental fastenings.

White mannequin displaying a cream-colored gown with elaborate applied fabric scrollwork across the fitted bodice, ruched sleeves, beaded high collar, and a wrapped headpiece, photographed against a black background.

Close-up detail of a cream-colored textile garment with a rounded neckline edged in layered lace trim and dotted netting; the bodice features raised soutache cord appliqué in curvilinear floral shapes over a crinkled woven ground.

Close-up of a cream-colored textile fragment, featuring a curved pocket or appliqué of fine honeycomb-patterned lace with raised ribbed strips, edged with a corded border, laid against a plain woven ground fabric.

Detail of a white textile, featuring a stylized foliate motif appliquéd onto dotted net fabric, with raised cord outlining scrolling curves and layered leaf forms against pleated silk or cotton.

Close-up detail photograph of a white bodice, rear three-quarter view, featuring a puffed and gathered sleeve with applied cord trim in looping patterns, dotted lace fabric, and laced back closure, against a black background.

Title: Woman's Dress
Place Made: Europe
Date Made: circa 1908
Medium: Cotton plain weave (crepe) and cotton net with cotton cord
Dimensions: Center back length: 66 1/4 in. (168.28 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number: M.2007.211.791
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: By the turn of the twentieth century, the bustle had radically decreased in amplitude. The new silhouette constricted the abdomen, thrust the breast forward, and forced the shoulders and the derrière back into a well-defined serpentine curve, which in profile resembled the letter S. The sinuous outline and linear patterns highlighted with cording on the dress exemplify the fluid dynamism of the international style of Art Nouveau.
Selected Bibliography: Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.

Woman's Dresscirca 1908

Related Unframed

Woman's Dresscirca 1908

Related Unframed

Related Unframed

Related Unframed