Dress, about 1825

The waist on this dress has been cut somewhat lower and closer to the natural waist than earlier in the Empire era. The waist was coming back in vogue. The latest trend was the ‘leg-of-mutton’ sleeve, it looked like a sheep’s leg. This type of sleeve was extremely long and not very practical. But then again, the woman wearing it was not supposed to do any real work. The sleeves could simply be pulled up to allow her to perform the tasks normally associated with her social standing at that time, such as embroidery, reading and playing the piano.