Dress c. 1936

Melita Hofmann made this drawing of a dress with watercolor and graphite, but we don't know exactly when. It's all about layering here. Look how the black floral details play against the teal background, creating this sort of gothic, romantic vibe. Up close, you can see the paper itself has a bit of tooth, grabbing the watercolor in a way that gives it texture. The graphite lines, especially in that ghosted dress in the background, they're so delicate. It’s like Hofmann is thinking through the form, letting us see the underdrawing, the process. And those black floral motifs? They’re not just decorative; they're practically climbing the dress, giving it this wild, untamed energy. It reminds me a little of Charles Burchfield, how he found a kind of animism in the everyday. In the end, it’s just Hofmann's way of reminding us that art, like fashion, is always a conversation.