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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.