Opera cloak

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

An opera cloak, worn in the evening, reinforces a winter wardrobe literally and figuratively. The light color asserts a winter glow; the swansdown trim buttresses wool's warmth with an edge that weather-strips in body and apparel heat. Similarly, the dress employs braid trim--in use throughout the year, but often omitted in summer to diminish weight and visible attachments--to fortify clothing's buffering.

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