Dinner dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This dress belonged to Amelia Beard Hollenback (1844-1918), wife of the prominent financier and philanthropist John Welles Hollenback (1835-1927). In 1874, the Hollenback family settled in the neighborhood of Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. In the 19th century, Brooklyn became a metropolitan center with numerous affluent neighborhoods and a thriving downtown shopping district to fulfill. This dress, like many of the garments in Hollenback gift, was most likely custom-made by a Brooklyn-based dressmaker. The elaborate button and tassel decorations, the overall cohesiveness of design and the high quality of this stylish dress are a testament to the craftsmanship and great attention to detail carried out by American dressmakers at this time.

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