Bridesmaid dress
1880
Medium
Silk
Classification
Bridesmaid dress
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Polly Dix, 1954
Accession Number
2009.300.6764a, b
Art Historical Context
This elegant bridesmaid dress, crafted in 1880 by American designer Herbert Luey, offers a glimpse into late nineteenth-century wedding traditions. Made from luxurious silk, the garment reflects the era’s emphasis on refined materials and intricate construction, where even supporting roles in a wedding demanded thoughtful attention to. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, it highlights how clothing served both functional and symbolic purposes in American social life. Luey work captures the transitional fashion of the 1880s, when silhouettes were evolving toward more ...