Dress

Unknown

1868–70 · silk · Costume Institute

This American dress, probably originally made in about 1858, but augmented and altered a decade or so later, shows the emerging influence of the eighteenth century. Superfluous overdrapes on the skirt were added in about 1870 to resemble the effect of the open robe pulled back. If anything, it is a perfect example of nineteenth-century excess trying to look like eighteenth-century excess.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1868–70

Medium

silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. William H. Johns, 1944