Dress

Art Historical Context

This elegant cotton dress from around 1837 offers a glimpse into mid-19th-century American fashion, a time when the Romantic style was in full bloom. Crafted in the United States during the early Victorian era, it reflects the era's emphasis on femininity and modesty, with silhouettes featuring fitted bodices, full skirts supported by petticoats, and often delicate trims. As an artifact from the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—gifted by Mr. Claggett in 1938—it preserves everyday elegance from a period of rapid social change, including the growth of American textile manufact...