Dress

Unknown

ca. 1885 · silk, cotton · Costume Institute

This high style dress made for a girl of about 8-10 years of age is an exact copy of women's clothing, including the bustle silhouette. The dress has great charm and special features such as the self fringe cutout from the dress fabric on the cuffs and irregular ruffles down the proper right side of the skirt, creating a notably asymmetrical statement. The only nod to childhood is the short bolero-length vest which was not a typical component of a similar woman's ensemble.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1885

Medium

silk, cotton

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Dorothy L. Tapscott and Gladys L. Campbell, 1962