Dress c. 1937

Nancy Crimi designed this dress, sometime in the late 19th century, using graphite and watercolor. While Crimi’s intentions may have been purely aesthetic, designs such as this offer a window into the rigid societal norms of the Victorian era. This dress, with its long sleeves and layered skirt, reflects the period’s emphasis on modesty and the limited roles assigned to women. Fashion was a tool that reinforced social standing. The attention to detail, like the delicate fringe, speaks to the era's emphasis on refinement, while simultaneously pointing to the labor often invisible in such garments. While the dress evokes a sense of tradition, the geometric pattern hints at subtle shifts in design. Designs such as these offer insight into the constraints and the quiet acts of expression that defined women's lives during this period. Designs like these leave us to wonder about the untold stories of the women who wore them, and of the hands that made them.