Sleeve supports
Unknown Artist
ca. 1827
Medium
cotton
Classification
Sleeve Supports
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The New York Historical Society, 1979
Accession Number
1979.346.140
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 1820s fashion with these delicate *Sleeve supports*, crafted around 1827 from lightweight cotton. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume, this gift from The New York Historical offers a glimpse into the ingenuity of everyday attire. These unassuming supports were essential undergarments, designed to prop up the voluminous "leg-of-mutton" sleeves that defined women's dresses of the era—ballooning dramatically at the upper arm before tapering to a fitted cuff. In the early 19th century, American women embraced European trends from Paris and London, but adapted...