Evening dress
Medium
silk, feathers
Classification
Evening dress
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of John R. Hotson, 1946
Accession Number
2009.300.1803a, b
Art Historical Context
This elegant evening dress, created in 1885 by R. H. White & Co., captures the refined tastes of American fashion during the Gilded Age. Crafted from luxurious silk and accented with feathers, the garment highlights the period’s emphasis on rich textures and dramatic embellishments suited for formal evening occasions. Silk offered a smooth, shimmering surface ideal for candlelit ballrooms, while feathers introduced movement and a sense of extravagance. As an American-made piece held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, it reflects the growing sophistication of domestic desig...