Dress

Unknown

1870–74 · wool, cotton · Costume Institute

A waistline rising slightly from 1860s was offset by the visual subterfuge of pulling all the fabric of the skirt into an airy bustle or pouf at the back. The graceful front view was preeminent; necessarily, a side silhouette was that of a truncated torso over a very full skirt. The coiffure of the period accorded with these proportions and called for a big coil of hair appropriate to balance the massing of the posterior pouf.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1870–74

Medium

wool, cotton

Culture

European

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Lee Simonson, 1938