Following up on a previous post, here’s another video from the Met Museum, this time an evening dress from circa 1884-1886. This should be a familiar dress to anyone interested in late 19th Century fashion history in that it epitomizes the extreme bustle fashion styles that developed during the mid to late 1880s:
This video takes a closer look at the dress as it’s taken out of storage. Because it’s stored flat, here’s a side profile view that gives a better idea of the dress as it was worn:
Evening Dress, American, c. 1884 – 1886; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.63.23.3a, b)
The video is very useful in that it provides some interesting close-up views of the dress itself. One interesting element is the pillow that is sewn into upper rear skirt, providing a built-in bustle pillow. The bodice itself is boned although this was purely to maintain the bodice structure/silhouette- the wearer would have been corseted. The dress was made by a one Antoinette Grapanche of New York:
Like almost all vintage garments, this dress is stored flat and outside of a special exhibition, will unfortunately never be seen by the general public, which is a pity but understandable; it would have been nice to have some more photos of this dress from various angles. Anyway, we hope you’ve enjoyed this “little bit more” about another amazing dress from the late 19th Century.