Ensemble

By the late 1860s, this homage to the eighteenth century could only have been conceived and made with some intentionality and disposition to the historical. Eighteenth-century ruching flutters and balloons out the back of the overskirt to allow for the skirt's full volume. The striped taffeta with self-devices for decoration reinforces the presence of the eighteenth century. By the 1860s the sewing machine and other apparel technology offered extravagance in decoration for a newly modest cost. This dress seeks to include every flourish and luxury of the eighteenth century hitherto unaffordable in nineteenth-century bourgeois clothing. Ironically, new technology was first used to emulate old styles.