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Evening Dress

c. 1894

Designer: Charles-Frederick Worth
Brand: Worth
Label: none
Material: Ivory silk satin two-piece dress; gigot sleeves; pale pink silk chiffon decoration at neck and bodice; skirt with sunbeam and cloud asymmetry pattern of pale pink silk tulle insertion and bead embroidery.
Inventory Number(s): AC4799 84-9-2AB

The clean line of the long skirt and the puffy elephant sleeves were a typical look around 1895. The bold sunray and cloud pattern on the skirt is asymmetrical, a common feature of Japanese art and craft.
During the late 19th Century, the age of Japonism, Japanese kimono and pattern books of kimono design (Hinagata) were brought into the West.
The Japanese motifs and asymmetrical compositions in these examples of Japanese designs were gradually absorbed into Paris Haute Couture as new designs, as is evident in this example.

1890s

KCI