Dress
Unknown Artist
ca. 1840
Medium
cotton
Classification
Dress
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Willis Reese, 1955
Accession Number
C.I.55.51.4
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 1840s America with this charming cotton dress from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. Crafted around 1840 by an unknown, this garment captures the refined simplicity of mid-19th fashion, when full skirts and fitted bodices defined women's daywear. Cotton, a staple fabric of the era, reflects America's booming textile industry, fueled by innovations in weaving and the crop's dominance in the Southern economy. Historically, this dress offers a window into pre-Civil War daily life, where such lightweight, breathable pieces were ideal for the growin...