"All of the decades of Victoria’s reign riot together on the dress racks and dance floors," Mildred Adams noted in Harper’s Bazar in 1931. In addition to gigot sleeves, there are many other revivals of Victorian-era styles.
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McCardell’s name is synonymous with the development of modern American sportswear, but even she was not immune to occasional influences from the past. However, this dress does not reference one specific period. Its fabric has hints of mid-Victorian plaid dresses, while the high neckline and the emphasis on the bodice front seem more reminiscent of styles worn at turn of the 20th century.
Claire McCardell
Dinner dress
Plaid cotton
Circa 1948, USA
The Museum at FIT, 87.144.3
Gift of John M. McCardell
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