Dolman 1870 - 1880

Editor: This is a Dolman from between 1870 and 1880, created by Arnold Constable & Company. It's made of mixed media, mainly textile, and the overall feel is quite opulent. It’s fascinating with all that trim. How do you interpret this work within its historical context? Curator: This piece invites us to consider the complex layers of 19th-century society, doesn’t it? Think about the rise of industrialization and its impact on textile production, making elaborate garments like this more accessible to a wider, albeit still privileged, segment of the population. But also, let’s not forget the global dimensions – where did these materials originate? What colonial dynamics were at play to create the availability of these textiles and embellishments? Editor: So, you're suggesting the garment itself is a representation of complex social and economic systems? Curator: Precisely. It embodies Victorian ideals of femininity, the emphasis on outward appearance as a marker of status. It also whispers of the exploitation inherent in global trade at the time. The ornamentation, the very visible display of wealth, stands in stark contrast to the unseen labor that produced it. Editor: It's strange to think about beauty holding darker implications, and that the pattern and decoration movement of this work, even Romanticism as a style could still promote those old oppressions. I guess those exploitative practices are often out of sight, out of mind. Curator: And that's the critical intervention – to bring those shadows into the light. How does looking at an object like this change your understanding of contemporary fashion? Editor: I think I will look at clothes differently from now on, considering who may have made the materials and under what conditions. Curator: Exactly. It’s about understanding that objects aren’t neutral, but rather laden with social and political narratives. Editor: This was a new way to see an old object, thank you!