explore | Grilled Cheese

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 19, 2026, 8:24 AM

Silk gown, Kunstmuseum den Haag, 1800

First empire-line dress I've posted in a while. I quite like how the high waist accentuates the fullness of the skirt here. The muslin (?) wrap is a detail I've not seen before. Anyone able to shed light on that?

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of a full length gown in red/terracotta silk. It is high-waisted, with a very full skirt with many folds, and a train extending a few feet behind. Sleeves are narrow and fitted, and the upper body is covered in a muslin or gauze wrap, which wraps diagonally across the full upper body, from each shoulder. There is a pale coloured silk sash worn at the waist, mostly occluded by the wrap.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 8:06 AM

Robe à l'anglaise, Kunstmuseum den Haag, 1790

Closing out the 18th century with another beautiful dress, this one in pink moiré silk. I feel the outfit is really completed by that blue ribbon on the waist. The fullness of the skirt is also appreciated!

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of a full length dress in pink moiré silk with a lighter coloured floral pattern. The bodice has a gentle V-shape, tapering to the waist, and has a solid look to it. Sleeves are just past the elbow, and I expect that the neckline is square-cut, but I can't tell due to the white lace fichu covering that area.
The skirt is extended at the side of the hips, possibly with panniers, so that its wider than the shoulders. It then falls straight to the floor with many voluminous folds.
The waistline is defined by a blue silk ribbon.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 8:56 AM

Robe à l'anglaise, Kunstmuseum den Haag, 1770

The deep blue silk is really incredible, right? You could put that on any kind of dress today and it would look amazing. I also love the little bow (?) on the chest that the fichu is tucked into.

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of a full length dress in dark blue silk, with woven floral details throughout. The skirt has wide panniers, just beyond shoulder width, and falls fairly straight to the floor. I think its actually an overskirt, open in front, with a same pattern skirt beneath (its hard to tell). The bodice is mostly covered by a large white lace fichu/shawl, but seems typical of the period. Sleeves are half length, with small ruffles in the dress' fabric, and white engageantes.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 8:33 AM

Robe a la Française, Kunstmuseum den Haag, 1770

Stressful night, so what better way to relax than by finding a nice dress to write about. What I love about it - the beautiful colour fabric, the square neckline, and the little bows on the stomacher.

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of an 18th centre overdress and skirt. It is in pale blue silk with woven floral details throughout. The overdress consists in a bodice with a square neckline, past-the-elbow sleeves, and a possibly separate stomacher with white lace bows down the front of it. Its skirts fall to the floor over side panniers, and its open in front. This reveals a separate skirt in the same fabric, also full length. Lace engageantes (ruffles) are worn at the sleeve ends, almost reaching the wrists.

@monalunasimone.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 3:51 PM

One little detail that I did love in the film: both Mrs Dashwood and Mrs Jennings wear calashes while traveling. Calashes were these big hoods that protected a woman’s hair from the elements. Sadly couldn’t find any pictures from the film. #dresshistory #18thc

Detail from a 1778 Gallerie des modes et Costumes Françaises fashion plate showing a woman wearing a black “Caleche ordinaire”. Source: Rijksmuseum. Objectnummer RP-P-2009-2096

Black 18th century silk calash from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Object number: C.I.46.82.9

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 8:48 AM

Girls' dress, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 1770

I don't know what it is, but I really love this one. The purple silk and brocaded flowers make for a beautiful fabric. And there's a lovely balance between that fabric and the white neck rulffles and engageantes.

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of an 18th century Dutch dress, made for a 12-14 year old. It is in light purple silk with brocade of green and yellow flowers throughout, and pale pinstripes vertically. The bodice is tapered to a narrow waist, with a stomacher. It has a broad square cut neckline, lined with a single layer of white lace ruffles. The sleeves are elbow length, with ruffles at the ends in the same fabric as the dress, and white lace engageantes below this.
The skirt is full and structured, with extended hips (a little past the line of the shoulders).

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 1:58 PM

Robe à l'anglaise, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 1765

The brocading on this is really nice (today I learned what brocade is... 😊). I can't understand how this was done back then, so I'll be looking that up. But it makes for a really beautiful fabric.

#fashionsky #dresshistory #fashionhistory

A museum photo of a robe à l'anglaise style dress. It consists of an overdress and tablier (and apron-like front panel). These are made in a blue fabric, with brocade of white trailing vines and flowers.
The bodice is heavily structured and tapered to the waist (though not very narrow), with a wide square cut neckline (filled in with a semi-transparent fichu). The skirts are very full, likely supported by panniers, and extend to the floor.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 9:10 AM

Robe à l'anglaise, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 1765

The balance of this dress really works for me. It has typical period architectural elements (rigid bodice, panniers), but this is softened by the floral brocade, folds of fabric, and ruffles. Really lovely.

#fashionsky #dresshistory #fashionhistory

Museum photo of a roccoco style dress. It is made in pale green silk, with floral brocade/embroidery throughout.
The bodice is stiff looking and tapered sharply to the waist, with a stomacher and square cut neckline. The sleeves end just past the elbows, where extensive ruffles take over (engageantes?).
The skirt is very broad and full, supported by panniers presumably, with an outer layer that is open in the front, and an inner layer in the same fabric.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 12:56 PM

Ball gown, Netherlands, 1760

The widest dress at Kunstmuseum den Haag!
Floral motifs on silk, with lots of cool features: the skirts supported by panniers; decorative apron in silk passementerie; & lace sleeve ruffles. Strange to modern eyes, but lovely.

#fashionsky #dresshistory #fashionhistory

Museum photo of a formal ball gown.
Its made of light blue silk woven with multicolored floral motifs. It is an example of a mantua, consisting of an overdress with a fitted back and a separate skirt.
This one also has a decorative apron made of silk passementerie. Lace trimmings and lace sleeve ruffles were then added around the neckline and sleeves.
The skirt is about 3 feet wider than the wearers hips on each side, making for a huge visual impact.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 10:12 AM

Girl's dress, 1750, Kunstmuseum den Haag

I love this. Nearly 300 years old, and the green silk is as vibrant as ever. What a startlingly beautiful thing this must have been back then, and for quite a young (12-14) person too.

#fashionsky #dresshistory #fashionhistory #historicalfashion

Museum photo of a rococo (maybe?) style girls dress, primarily in green silk. It has a close fitted bodice, with a very broad scoop neckline. Beneath this, covering the upper chest, is a white fichu. The sleeves are three quarter length, with lace trimming at the ends. The waist is tight and decorated with some 15 or so horizontal bands of fabric in various pastel colours.
There is a small peplum over the hips in the same green silk, and the skirt below this is full length, enlarged considerably at the hips with some underlying structure, and has deep pleats at the top, allowing it to hang very nicely.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Sep 29, 2026, 10:08 AM

Mantua court dress, 1747

I found another haul of old dresses, so lets go!

You may notice that the hips are slightly accentuated - a subtle touch, I'm sure you'll agree 😁

The bodice itself is quite beautiful, with the neckline ruffles a lovely touch.

#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory

Museum photo of a court dress in pale yellow and white silk. It has chinoiserie embroidery throughout, a pointed stomacher, and a square cut neckline trimmed with ruffles. The most obvious visual feature is the extremely enlarged side hips, extending a good 70cm or so from the bodice to the right and left. These enlarge the skirt considerably and are likely supported by hoops and panniers.

@bows4crows.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 8:01 AM

Evening dress, Christian Lacroix, France, 1987

It still counts as fashion history, ok? 39 years ago is definitely history 😄
Anyway, I love this. Big hat, big skirt, big embroidery. You can't go wrong.

#fashionsky #dresshistory #HouseofPatou #fashion #fashionhistory

Museum photo of a short gray silk dress with black embroidered skirt, white ruffled bodice, and black satin straps tied in bows at the top. The skirt is extremely full and seemed to have layers of petticoats.

The waistline is just below the bust, and is accentuated by a light green silk belt, with a chunky flat textured buckle in the same colour.

It is worn with an oversized straw hat with square crown and very wide brim, which has a pink silk rose and green petals at the front.

@massobsarchive.bsky.social Sep 22, 2026, 11:14 AM

Another excellent submission featured in our recent blog post! This time a lovely illustration of the clothes owned by one of our contributors in 1988, ranging from underwear to dressed-up wear! You can read the post here: massobs.org.uk/2026/09/21/e...

#dresshistory #fashionhistory

A watercolour illustration of the contents of a wardrobe. There are small sketches of each item of clothing the person owns. This includes underwear, outerwear and jewellery.