Dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

By mid-century, the emphasis of the fashionable silhouette settled on the ever increasing circumference of the skirt. A swelling bell shape was achieved through multiple layers of stiff petticoats. In addition, sophisticated border-patterned textiles were produced for tiered flounces designed with the express purpose of creating the effect of even greater volume.

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