What Shall We Do Next? Possibly 1869

Curator: What an interesting piece! Winslow Homer's engraving, possibly from 1869, titled "What Shall We Do Next?" presents us with several figures, elegantly dressed. It is currently held here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: It has a hushed feeling, like a theatre scene just before the curtain rises. Everything seems poised, anticipatory. The intricate detailing feels almost suffocating though; so much ornamentation! Curator: Well, this piece comes from *Harper's Bazar*, a magazine, and essentially functions as a dress pattern. It shows different angles and styles, focusing on the "Mantilla Draperies from Square Shawls." Remember, clothing held immense social and symbolic weight at the time. What you see as ornamentation, others may have perceived as expressing the wearer's class, status, and identity. Editor: I suppose it is also like a catalog of possibilities then, where the title acts like an open ended invitation, urging women to ask: "What shall *we* do next, sartorially?" It almost makes me laugh at how weighty fabric and fringe can become in this world. Curator: Exactly! *Harper’s Bazar* aimed to guide women in creating a carefully curated appearance within the bounds of propriety, which reinforced prevailing gender roles in society through prescriptive illustrations like this engraving. Editor: There is a certain anxiety radiating from these figures too. It is something in the women's tight smiles, the ornate costuming. I almost feel I need an encyclopedia just to grasp all the unspoken meanings imbued in each tassel! Curator: It is true: clothing acted as nonverbal communication and performed expectations. Perhaps there is also some humor to be mined as well! Editor: That makes the image that much richer and delightfully absurd to me now. It feels very charged, and it does push us to think what we choose to wear, or not to wear, to express, or even subvert ourselves. Curator: Right! "What Shall We Do Next?" then also becomes a question directed to *us*, today, doesn't it? Editor: It most certainly does. Thank you.