Category: D

aniline dyes

19th century, A, D, term definition

Synthetic, chemical dyes for garments first invented in the 19th century.

doublet

1490-1499, 14th century, 15th century, 16th century, 17th century, D, term definition

An often snug-fitting jacket that is shaped and fitted to a man’s body–worn mostly in the 15th to 17th centuries.

dagging

14th century, 15th century, 16th century, D, term definition

An extremely popular decorative edging technique created by cutting that reached its height during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

dalmatic tunic

Byzantine, D, T, term definition

A t-shaped tunic with very wide sleeves. Worn by both men and women during the Byzantine empire.

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Judith, painted by Eglon Hendrick Van der Neer, de

Judith, painted by Eglon Hendrick Van der Neer, depicts a young woman as the Old Testament heroine who seduced and decapitated Holofernes, a general who led an attack on her town. Van der Neer had a specific talent for incorporating symbolic meaning into his paintings while featuring elaborate French costumes and contemporary beauty standards. This 1678 depiction of Judith shows her wearing a low-cut satin gown with a boned bodice, shawl, and pearl adornments. During the latter half of the 17th century, exposed décolletage was considered fashionable so necklines were cut low, straight across, and slightly off-the-shoulder, leading to a rise in use of shawls and scarfs. Heavy satin fabrics were commonly used for formal attire, with stays (a kind of corsetry) helping to create an hourglass figure. Van der Neer painted Judith to further resemble elite women of his time by including pearls around her wrists and in her hair. Read more at the link in bio!

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American portraitist and landscape artist William

American portraitist and landscape artist William Merrit Chase painted this portrait of his art student Mariette Benedict Cotton. The piece was not originally commissioned, rather, Chase was struck by inspiration when he first met Mariette and asked her to model for the painting. Mariette also serves as the model in another one of his famous paintings called Portrait of a Lady in Pink from the same year. The subject stands in a black day-dress, eyes transfixed on the viewer, in a room with minimal furniture or detail. Her dress follows the popular styles of the time including a tight-fitting bodice and a prominent bustle on the back of the garment. Mariette’s sleeves are three-quarter length and puff out towards the cuff; a style that was becoming increasingly more popular in the late 1880’s and into the last decade of the century. The black dress has a high collar and the skirt has a tablier or an asymmetrical piece of fabric draped across the front to add more surface detail. Chase chose to depict the subject in a minimal amount of accessories including a thin gold bracelet and a silver belt enclosed around the waist of the dress. Both the accessories as well as the indication of a pink rose on the table beside her tell the viewer that the choice of black for the dress does not imply she’s mourning and rather that the black was a fashion choice. Black within fashion had become increasingly popular outside of daywear and was considered one of the most popular colors at the time. Read more at the link in the bio!

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Fashion of the 1910s was largely affected by WWI,

Fashion of the 1910s was largely affected by WWI, but subtle changes over the decade paved the way for the trends of the 1920s. Pre-war fashion for men was largely the same as the decade prior with the addition of the “lounge suit;” three-piece suits worn for leisurely activities. For women, silhouettes softened as the S-shape corset waned in popularity, and many designers began forgoing the use of corsetry entirely. Paul Poiret, who claimed falsely to have been the first to cease his use of corsets, dominated pre-war fashion due to his innovative designs like the hobble skirt and lampshade tunic. Wartime fashion consisted of simple utilitarian garments, like tunics and skirts, as well as overalls and trousers worn by women working in factories. Post-war fashion retained the simplicity in garments but also saw a new, tubular silhouette emerge which would later develop into the flapper look of the 1920s. Read more at the link in bio!

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This light pinky peach dress covered in ruched bow

This light pinky peach dress covered in ruched bows and with full crinoline-supported skirt epitomizes the early 1860s ball gown. With delicate detailing and a simple color palette this garment is sophisticated yet effortless–perfectly in line with the fashions of the day. Read more at the link in the bio!

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Soap Bubbles was the first of many paintings by Je

Soap Bubbles was the first of many paintings by Jean Siméon Chardin that depicted the life and curiosity of children. This painting combines his style of painting of everyday life with youth and innocence. In keeping with the subject, the clothing style is simple and unadorned basic everyday dress. Read more at the link in bio!

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As part of his spring/summer 2003 ready-to-wear co

As part of his spring/summer 2003 ready-to-wear collection, Italian designer Roberto Cavalli created this 18th-century inspired denim ensemble. The embroidery of the denim jacket harkens back to the design details on the waistcoats popular in the 1740s and cutaway coat of the 18th century, but as opposed to breeches, Cavalli pairs the denim jacket with a mini-skirt and crepe-de-chine bustier. The designer was known for his sultry ensembles and the short skirt paired with the revealing bustier despite the long jacket was no different. Cavalli’s use of the mini-skirt was similarly very influential as sales soared for the design in Spring of 2003. Beyond the use of 18th-century inspiration, Cavalli specifically chose to use denim, a characteristically working-class fabric, in a design style famous for implying wealth. Similarly, the waistcoat itself is an undeniably reference to menswear as being worn in a womenswear collection, subverting gender expectations. Read more about the work of Cavalli at the link in the bio!

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Considered one of the founders of Baroque art, as

Considered one of the founders of Baroque art, as well as sketch caricature, Annibale Carracci began his career with portraits and genre paintings before being known for his religious work. His 16th-century painting, Portrait of a Woman Holding a Clock, is particularly valuable because of its depiction of a “real woman,” one who played a tangible part in society, as well as its detailed depiction of a Black woman in European fashions. The woman is wearing a simple black sottana, a rarity to see in portraiture due to its informality, with two pins and a needle stuck in the front of her bodice, alluding to her being a dressmaker. She also dons quintessential Italian accessories like the caul covering her hair, as well as pearl earrings and a coral necklace. The portable clock she’s holding has been interpreted symbolically in several ways, but smaller clocks were actually a technological and fashion novelty at this time, utilized as accessories by prominent women like Isabelle d’Este. In 2020, artist Shasta Schatz was inspired to reproduce the portrait to show what the rest of the garment looked like on the original sitter. Read more at the link in bio!

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Peter Paul Rubens, master of Baroque art, created

Peter Paul Rubens, master of Baroque art, created this portrait in the early 17th century. The painting displays the wealth and fashionable styles of Clara Eugenia, the governess of the Southern Netherlands at the time. First and foremost she wears a large needle lace platter style ruff with matching lace cuffs at the end of her sleeves. Her Spanish hanging sleeves, pearl drop earrings, and gold metallic lace decoration portray Isabella as the picture of beauty and early 17th-century fashion. The onyx and gold cross as worn around her neck portray her as a noblewoman and highlight the importance of religion. Both the fan and handkerchief were popular accessories, showing up in many portraits from the time period. Isabella and her husband were frequent patrons of Rubens, commissioning religious-based artwork that in turn influenced other wealthy patrons to do the same. Read more at the link in the bio!

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Fashion at the turn of the 20th century mostly rem

Fashion at the turn of the 20th century mostly remained the same to that of the decade prior, especially for men and children. For women, the heavily structured silhouette of the Gibson Girl was still immensely popular, but subtle changes began to occur in part due to the new S-shaped corset. Marketed as a “health” corset, this shapewear pushed the hips back and bust forward to create a narrow waist and a large “mono-bosom.” Tops were blousy and loose with dramatic long sleeves to better emphasize this top-heavy silhouette, but modesty was still at the forefront of fashion so all day dresses covered women from the neck to the floor. Evening wear was similar to day wear, although slightly more revealing with low décolletage and short sleeves (although long gloves were used to compensate). Subtle changes in silhouette and fashion occured as women began participating in sports and working outside of the home, and by 1910 a looser, tubular silhouette began to emerge. Read more at the link in bio!

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