Tea gown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This traditional tea gown mixes subtle historical details based on a typical, late-1870s silhouette. The one-piece dress is fitted to the body with princess seams, yet the back of the dress gives the illusion of being loose with a smocked draped panel that extends into a train. It is doubtful that a woman would go corsetless, yet she could wear her corset loosened for teatime with friends.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art