Dolman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the nineteenth century, fashionable outerwear in its endless varieties and forms, was every bit as colorful and ornate as the ensembles it covered. Jackets, coats and capes of this period were seen as opportunities for stylish expression, not simply as functional garments, and were therefore often lavishly ornamented. The fashionable silhouette, though covered, was far from being lost; rather, it's shape was reinforced, even extended, by the outer layer.

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