KCIDigital Archives

The KCI Digital Archives on the KCI website presents image and text information for the objects in the collection, arranged in chronological order.

Blouse, Skirt

© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Taishi Hirokawa

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Blouse, Skirt

c. 1893 - America

Material
Blouse of gray plain-weave cotton; pleated skirt of white linen; green cummerbund.
Inventory Number(s)
AC2122 79-6-9AF, AC2123-2124 79-6-10AB

As sports gained popularity amongst women, the blouse and skirt were established as essential items of a woman's wardrobe. This style was favored and drawn by the American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944), and, by association, was coined as the "Gibson girl style." Outfits for the modern lady, consisting of a plain skirt and starched blouse, were fresh in a time when over decorative dresses were the mainstream. Though the fashionable silhouette with an extremely thin waist of the time is emphasized by a corset still persisted, the ensemble shown here is a premonition of liberating female images of the 20th century.

1890s