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Promenade Suit | c. 1913

This garment reveals the fashionable elements of dress immediately before World War I (1914-1918). The line is straight and the cut (especially of the cross-over draped bodice) is intricate. Rows of non-functional tiny buttons were frequently used as decorative motifs in this period. The bodice is lined with white cotton (with ruffles attached to give fullness at the bust) and has a stiff, silk-faced waistband. It was not made by one of the top houses, for it is probably a copy by a good dressmaker of a Paris model .