Cape

Unknown

1775–1800 · silk · Costume Institute

Emergent fashion plates at the end of the eighteenth century document the wearing of wraps and capes. Their role was aesthetic, complementing dresses, but it was also one of providing another layer of warmth or protection. Silk taffeta would not have been a wintry wrap, but would have trapped enough body warmth to make real difference in the wearer's contentment in changeable fall weather.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1775–1800

Medium

silk

Culture

British

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, Judith and Gerson Leiber Fund, 1985