Fichu
Unknown Artist
1860s
Medium
[no medium available]
Classification
Fichu
Culture
American or European
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Miss Constance P. Brown, 1942
Accession Number
C.I.42.114.3
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century fashion with this delicate *Fichu* from the 1860s, a charming garment from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. A fichu was a triangular shawl or kerchief worn by women draped over the shoulders and tucked into the bodice, serving both as a stylish accessory and a modest cover for low necklines. Popular in American and European wardrobes during the Victorian era, it reflected the era's blend of refinement and propriety amid rapid social changes, including the American Civil War and Europe's industrial boom. Though created by an unknow...