Aesthetic Movement
My understanding of turn of the century fashion is pretty limited to mutton sleeves and the bouffant hair styles of Gibson girls.
I was pleased to come across this dress on the Wisconsin History site that’s apparently the perfect example of a movement I was previously ignorant of: the Aesthetic Movement.
The aesthetic style in dress came into being during the Arts and Crafts and Pre-Raphaelite movements of the late nineteenth century. After the rise of the Industrial Revolution and mass manufacturing, artists desired a return to the quality and beauty of handmade products, and the English medieval era provided the idyllic model…Fashion followed suit, shaping gowns to look like the typical kirtle, a long, loose-fitting outer garment worn by women in the Middle Ages.
That second sentence certainly sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
i love this post. it’s like a mini history lesson
Looks like Ossie Clark might have been inspired by a dress like that.
Thank you so much for posting this photo and link. I am a scholar of the Aesthetic Movement, and I had not run across this particular example before. It’s especially interesting because of the picture on their website showing the inner bodice of the dress, which is not always shown, or indeed even discussed. I’ve written to the Museum to get a bit more detail. I’ll pass it on to you if I get a response, if you like.
I’m amazed at how clean the lines of this dress are given the historical context.
It’s beautiful. I will be wearing it, and others in a similar style, when I retire to the attic for my Golden Years.
Everything old is new again! Gotta love those Arts and Crafts movement folks. This dress is so reminiscent of the pre-Raphaelite paintings that came out of the same era. John William Waterhouse is a particular favourite of mine…
Great post! Really brings out the history nerd in me—especially the costume history nerd. I’m obsessed with historical dress and one of my (many) dream jobs would be costume designer for film and theatre. Sigh…
I had no idea about the Aesthetic Movement either, but now I want to find out more!
Also, those Gibson girls and those crazy bouffants of theirs make me wish I never chopped off my hair.
that dress is really something – so simple and elegant. and now i’m kind of fixing to get some bobby pins and make a stab at that hair!
Thanks for the information…didn’t know that style was actually part of a movement…