Dress 1880 - 1890

This dress was produced by L.P. Hollander & Co., a dressmaking company operating during the late 19th century. It epitomizes the aesthetics of the Victorian era. Fashion during this time was deeply intertwined with social status and gender roles. Corsets, like the one implied in the silhouette of this dress, were not merely garments but instruments that shaped a woman's body to conform to prevailing ideals of beauty, which often symbolized restraint and domesticity. The elaborate design and expensive materials suggest that the wearer belonged to the upper echelons of society, where conspicuous consumption was a marker of affluence and power. Yet, these dresses were also sites of female labor, crafted by skilled seamstresses who were often marginalized and exploited, hidden behind the glamour of high society. How might the wearer have felt as the layers of fabric restricted her movement and dictated her posture, caught between the privileges afforded by her social position and the physical constraints imposed upon her body?