Evening Dress | c. 1894
This sumptuous evening dress has huge puffed sleeves which were highly fashionable during the mid 1890s. One of the advantages of these large sleeves was to make the waist look small by comparison. The shoulder width was counterbalanced by the size of the skirt, which widened at the hem - an effect that was achieved by gores, shaped panels, box pleats in the back of the skirt and stiff interlining.
The skirt and bodice is embroidered in beads with exquisite butterfly and ribbon motifs. Butterflies were popular in 1894. The Queen in April illustrated an example by the couturier Felix.
The label ‘Stern Bros., West 23rd , New York’ is stitched to the waistband. Stern Bros., one of the largest New York department stores of the time, imported models of Parisian fashions for copying.
Day Dress Detail | c. 1895
Enormous sleeves swell out from the bodice of this day dress. They create an exaggerated shoulder line and emphasise the smallness of the wearer’s waist. Known as ‘gigot’ (‘leg-of-mutton’) sleeves, they were highly fashionable between 1894 and 1896 when women adopted them for all types of activities and occasions. The basic shape was similar to that of sleeves during the 1830s. Like those sleeves they rapidly diminished in size after a few years.
Carriage Ensemble | Charles Frederick Worth | c. 1894
This extraordinary costume would have been worn while riding in one’s carriage, which at the time was a social event. It is likely the muff and mantle were bought from the House of Worth but due to the difference in stitching and trimming on the dress, the likelihood is that the client bought extra textile lengths and had the dress made in the United States after returning home.
Opera Cloak | House of Worth | c. 1897-1900
House of Givenchy | c. 1956
House of Balenciaga | c. 1950
