Dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Whereas the nineteenth century was marked by regular changes in the placement of the waist, only very subtle shifts in the waistline occurred in the dress of the eighteenth century. While a low waist was in evidence at the eighteenth century's commencement and an extremely high waist took prominence at its end, the middle of the century was characterized by a waistline that hovered at the natural zone.

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