Shawl

Unknown

1800–1820 · wool, silk · Costume Institute

The sheer, lax form of Empire dress provided little visual or climate safety for the body. Almost immediately with the adoption of the new sheer styles, a Darwinian reaction occurred in the presence of spencers, adapted from menswear especially military attire, and shawls, taken first from the textiles of the East. These extras, even if provisional, shrouded the see-through and waft-through gauziness of Empire dresses.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1800–1820

Medium

wool, silk

Culture

Indian

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mr. Lee Simonson, 1939