277 garments across eras and cultures


These two gowns reveal how the Second Empire's taste for theatrical luxury filtered through different social strata across two decades. The earlier brocade ball gown, with its off-shoulder bertha collar and metallic weave catching light like armor, speaks the formal language of Empress Eugénie's court—all glittering surfaces and architectural volume over crinolines.


These two shawls trace the evolution of Europe's obsession with the Kashmir paisley, from the cream stole's restrained interpretation of the boteh motif—those teardrop forms climbing symmetrically up the center like botanical specimens pressed in a Victorian album—to the riot of jewel-toned paisleys that swirl across the later piece in burgundy, emerald, and purple.