Petticoat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the nineteenth century, women had an extensive array of underpinnings, which could include a chemise, drawers, corset, corset cover, camisole, skirt supports and petticoats. Although to the modest nineteenth-century woman, it would be scandalous for any of these items to be seen, some underclothes were made of sumptuous silks and beautifully decorated with embroidery, ribbons and lace. The meticulous horizontal and diagonal tucking on this petticoat, although done by machine, would have been time-consuming, and exemplifies the desire and importance during this time of having beautiful underclothes. The petticoat was the ideal palette for embroidered, tucked and pleated decorations accented with delicate lace and silky ribbons.

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