Dress c. 1937

This drawing, "Dress," by Arelia Arbo, presents us with a study in form and line. Rendered in delicate pencil and pale red ink, two iterations of a dress design dominate the composition. The dress on the right, bolder and more defined, stands in contrast to the fainter, skeletal outline of the dress to the left. Arbo's use of the grid is particularly striking. The plaid pattern imposed upon the dress's form is more than decorative. It serves as a structural element that emphasizes the underlying geometry of the garment. It also destabilizes the dress, turning a symbol of femininity into an exercise of geometric form. Here, Arbo seems to be engaging with the semiotic potential of clothing, underscoring how garments are both functional objects and carriers of cultural meaning. The use of line and geometric patterns is not just about representation. It is about probing the very structure of meaning itself.