Evening Dress A pale yellow ottoman velvet evening gown, circa 1865, the bodice with yellow satin trimming and buttons, matching waistband with large bow, the trained skirt applied with broad band of black Chantilly lace. | ArtFact
Bodice Third quarter 19th century, Swiss, silk, metal & cotton. | THE MET
Headdress Early 19th century, Russian, silk, metal, cotton & paper. Headdresses, or kokoshniks had the greatest abundance of ornamentation of any type of garment in Russia. They were most often made of damask woven with gilt metallic threads or velvet with gold embroidery. The wealthy peasant class often decorated their kokoshniks with pearls and gemstones. The headdresses worn by maidens exposed their hair, considered a prize possession in Russian culture. They were often accompanied by a venchik, a forehead covering made of fabric or metal. Married women were required to cover their hair entirely lest they be considered immodest. This example was collected in the province of Vladimir, but similar examples are also seen from Nizhny Novgorod. The striking contrast between the blue silk ground and gold embroidery further enhances this grand headdress. Additional visual interest is created by the colored foil accents on the back, giving the appearance of semi-precious stones. | ↳ THE MET
English Court Mantua 1755-1760 (made), 1753-1755 (fabric woven). England (made), France (woven).
This richly brocaded ensemble illustrates the style of dress worn by women at court in England. Known as a mantua, the gown consists of a bodice with a train at the back. A very wide petticoat of matching silk completes the ensemble along with a triangle of silk known as a stomacher, in the centre front.
Although considered stylish daywear in the early 18th century, the mantua had become very old-fashioned by the 1750s and was worn only for court dress. Wide hoops were beginning to go out of style, but kept their extreme width at court. To make up for its conservative cut, court dress was always made from the most fashionable as well as expensive fabrics and trimmings.
This example is made from an ivory silk brocaded in a pattern of stylised flowers and leaves. The abstract form of the motifs is accentuated by the non-naturalistic colours of the precious metal threads. Such a design is typical of French silk weavers and the fabric was probably imported. However it could also have been woven in London, as English weavers copied French designs very closely. | V&A
Coat and waistcoat worn by Peter II, 1727–1730 Coat and waistcoat, France,1727–1730, Silk velvet and silk taffeta with silver embroidery
In this ensemble the silk of the waistcoat and coat cuffs has faded considerably. It was once a vibrant pink, an elegant contrast to the deep blue velvet of the coat. Both garments are decorated in silver embroidery, worked separately then applied to the velvet and taffeta, rather than embroidered directly onto the coat and waistcoat. | The Moscow Kremlin Museums via V&A
Sioux Woman's dress 1890-1910, South Dakota; USA, Wool cloth, dentalium shell/shells, silk ribbon, sequins, metal brooches, thread. | NMAI
Nose Ornament with Spiders 1st century BCE – 2nd century CE. Peru. Salinar (?). Gold. Nose ornaments are among the earliest jewelry forms in Precolumbian America and were made in an endless variety of materials and styles; those for the elite were made of precious metal. In Peru, nose ornaments became less fashionable in the second half of the first millennium A.D. and were seldom used after about 600. This elegant, very delicate crescent nose ring from northern Peru is evidence of the high level of craftsmanship that existed among metalworkers at this time. Depicted are four spiders sitting in their web. The openwork, lacelike quality of the object was achieved by fusing the many minute parts together to create a symmetrical composition. The stylized spiders, their tiny eyes and fangs showing, are held, each in its own open space, by paired, spindly legs echoing the round bodies and joined to the web. Spider imagery occurs in Peruvian art from the middle of the first millennium B.C. onward, suggesting that spiders played a role in early Andean mythology. The spiders' ability to catch and kill live prey associates them with sacrifice. Information from the sixteenth-century Inka peoples links spiders with rainfall and fertility. | THE MET
Shoe Striped silk Louis heel shoes, decorated with a bow on the vamp. France. c. 1750s. | SHOE ICONS
Noh Robe (Nuihaku) with Design of Butterflies, Chrysanthemums, Maple Leaves, and Miscanthus Grass Edo period (1615–1868), second half of the 18th century, Japan, Silk embroidery and gold leaf on silk satin. The butterfly motif came into its own in China during the Tang dynasty (618-906), and several examples of decorative arts of the Tang bearing this pattern were preserved in the eighth-century Shōsōin imperial repository in Nara, Japan. Chinese secular poetry and writings on Buddhism also featured the butterfly, and Japanese admiration for these texts helped bring the motif to the fore in the literary and visual arts of Japan, where its popularity has lasted for centuries. This robe is decorated only at the shoulders (kata) and hem (suso), where the embroidered autumn design is on a glowing background of gold leaf. | THE MET
Evening dress Ca. 1842, American or European, silk | THE MET
Wedding Dress 1890's, American, Made of silk and velvet. | MNHS
Agnolo Bronzino, Italian Painter, Mannerist. b. 1503 Monticelli, Italy, d. 1572 Florence, Italy Fashion: 1500s Italy. 1. Portrait of Maria de' Medici, 1553 2. Lucrezia Panciatichi, 1540 ✦ | ✦ 3. Eleanora of Toledo with her son Giovanni de Medici - 1544-5 4. Portrait of a Lady with a Puppy, c.1534 ✦ | ✦ 5. Portrait of a girl with book, 1545 ✦ | ✦ Woman and her Little Boy, 1540s
`MISS VERNON' attributed to William Hoare of Bath R A (1707-92). She was one of the 1st Lord Berwick's sisters-in-law. Shows Miss Vernon in a white Riding Habbit, and blue scarf. | NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES
Military coat, 1775–83, American. This example of a uniform jacket worn by an officer during the American Revolution is completely hand-made. Owned by Col. William Taylor, it shows a significant amount of wear. Color, style and number of buttons are among the features used to identify one's military unit, or regiment, in this case Connecticut Regiment 1776. | THE MET
Vest, first quarter 20th century. Albanian This vest features a rich contrast of materials; the applied silver cord couched onto a white foundation is particularly elegant. The densely embroidered shawl collar adds another dimension of visual interest. The applied cord on the back of the garment depicts a stylized goddess figure. | THE MET