National Gallery of Art - THE COLLECTION
image of Dress
Dress
Rendered by Henry De Wolfe (artist), c. 1940
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
overall: 58.3 x 44.4 cm (22 15/16 x 17 1/2 in.) Original IAD Object: waist: 24"; bust: 35"; sleeve: 16"; skirt: 39 1/2" long
Index of American Design
1943.8.9519
Not on View
From the Tour: Costumes from the Index of American Design
Object 23 of 26

By the 1870s, women's dresses gained fullness in back by use of a padded bustle. This two-piece dress, made of red cotton with white eyelet embroidery, has a bustle in back. The lines of the dress, however, are softer and fall closer to the body than those of fashions in the previous decade, indicating a movement toward a more natural form for women's clothing.

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