Woman's Dresscirca 1885

Not on view

Late 19th-century women's dress displayed on a white mannequin, featuring a fitted bodice and full bustle silhouette in navy and rust floral-patterned fabric, with smooth navy satin panels, small button closures at the front, long sleeves, and a ruffled hem; mannequin wears a small velvet hat.

Late 19th-century woman's ensemble displayed on a mannequin, shown from the back: fitted bodice in blue and red floral brocade with long sleeves, paired with a full blue silk satin skirt featuring a pronounced bustle with draped fabric and bow details at the rear, topped with a small dark straw hat with velvet trim.

Late 19th-century bustle dress displayed on a white mannequin, featuring blue and rust floral patterned fabric with a fitted bodice, button-front placket, and prominent blue satin bustle drapery at the hip; small velvet hat atop braided hair piece.

Close-up of a Victorian-era bodice in deep navy silk, with vertical knife pleats at center front, a row of small hand-painted floral buttons, and copper-toned woven brocade panels at collar and shoulder depicting leafy botanical motifs. Cream lace trim visible at the neckline.

Woven textile with a floral pattern in deep purple and copper tones on a teal blue horizontally ribbed ground, featuring large blooms, broad leaves, and small scattered flowers in a brocade or jacquard weave.

Close-up detail of a late 19th-century dress, rear view; fitted bodice in teal and copper floral brocade with button back closure, transitioning to a heavily draped and gathered teal silk taffeta skirt with bustle fullness.

Title: Woman's Dress
Place Made: England
Date Made: circa 1885
Medium: Silk plain weave with warp-float and supplementary weft patterning, and silk satin
Dimensions: A) Bodice Center back length: 25 1/2 in. (64.77 cm); B) Skirt Center back length: 41 in. (104.14 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.2007.211.781a-b
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: With the widespread use of the sewing machine, dressmaking grew more complex, as illustrated in this two-piece bodice-and-skirt ensemble. The fitted bodice required many pattern pieces, including a decorative peplum (center-back extension) that rested on the bustle. The asymmetrical skirt is constructed of multiple pieces of fabric manipulated into folds and decorated with trim.
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 1885

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