Fragment of a Woman's Skirt Flounce
1840–1860
- Medium
- Silk, warp-faced pattern woven to shape, on plain weave foundation
- Dimensions
- 49 × 106.8 cm (19 1/4 × 42 1/8 in.)
- Genre
- textile
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
costume component19th centurysilk (fiber)costume - weavingfloralcostume accessoryflowersfashioncostume accessory worn at waist or belowfloral motifsfragmentTextiledressesweavingskirtsplain weaving
About
During the middle of the 1800s, European and American women’s fashion favored voluminous bell-shaped skirts worn with matching, tightly fitted bodices, which helped make the wearer’s waist appear slender in comparison to the full skirt below. Such skirts were often decorated with several tiers of gathered flounces that added volume to the already wide garments.