Pink Silk Gauze Dress
1810s
Style: The delicacy of sheer silk net and gauze dresses fit the aesthetic of the light, flowing styles of the turn of the century. The use of gauze, along with the fuller skirt and padded satin roll at the hem to emphasize the skirt’s fullness, helps date the dress to the second decade of the century.
Fabric: Net and gauze dresses were suitable for evening and dancing dresses. Here, the gauze has been woven with a larger-scale floral design for the lower part of the skirt.
Silk gauze dress with reproduction underslip, private collection; wool shoes with silk ribbon rosette, 1810s, private collection; reproduction necklace courtesy Dames à la Mode.
“Ball dress,” 1810, from Journal des Dames et des modes. Courtesy Louisa Rauth.
