Evening dress, 1877–82
European
Silk
Technical Glossary
European
Silk
Gift of Aline Bernstein, 1937 (C.I.37.61.1a,b)
With mechanized sewing becoming ubiquitous, as well as the Victorian penchant for machine-made trimmings such as braid, lace, and ribbons, women's dress became the foundation on which elaborate surface decoration was applied. This example was seen in its day as à la sirène, or mermaidlike, in outline. Its extended bodice, called the "cuirasse" since it encased a woman's torso like body armor, was the clearest nineteenth-century expression of the hourglass shape.
