Mourning dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the growing circulation of fashion magazines offering guidance on appropriate mourning styles increased demand for mourning attire, which became an indicator of middle-class status. Those unable to afford the purchase of a new mourning wardrobe could dye existing garments and accessories black, while others turned to a range of retailers. Shops specializing in mourning goods had existed since the eighteenth century, though by the mid-nineteenth century they operated on a greatly enhanced scale, aided by the mechanization of the textile industry, which permitted the mass-production of fabrics. From the 1840s, mourning warehouses—grand purveyors of mourning goods—were founded in many European and American cities, making such merchandise widely available. These establishments offered a variety of mourning fabrics and accessories, and many also offered the sewing of finished garments, emphasizing their ability to work at great speed.

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