Evening dress

House of Worth

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Severe corsetting falling at the natural waist, a flaring skirt, and the return of gigot sleeves constituted a fin-de-siècle extremism. The engorgement of sleeves and skirt made this extreme constriction seem even more exaggerated in the context of the bulbous shapes surrounding the ideal, hard, narrow waist. The style was maintained well into the twentieth century as a flattering stage effect by actresses such as Sarah Bernhardt.

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