Sleeve supports

ca. 1828
Not on view
The inflated sleeves of the 1830s and the 1890s were augmented by a variety of supports, either worn as underpinnings or incorporated into the structure of the sleeves themselves. Sleeve supports were frequently down-filled pillows, but chintz with ribs of wire or cane was also used to make somewhat airier, lantern-like forms.

When not sewn into the dresses, the sleeve supports were attached to the corset's shoulder straps by ties. In the 1830s, these straps were oriented at a forty-five-degree angle from the body, and sometimes even more obliquely. Although impressive in mass, the earlier sleeve puffs did not disrupt the line of the shoulder. Instead, because they were poised so precariously on the upper arm, the sleeve's outline simply continued in a descending line from the shoulder. It was only in the 1890s that the giant puffed sleeves obtruded above the line of the newly squared shoulder.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sleeve supports
  • Date: ca. 1828
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: cotton, baleen
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Irene Lewisohn Bequest, 1966
  • Object Number: C.I.66.38.5a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.