Dress (detail)

On the wool fabric, ripples in the water with a color gradation from ultramarine to light blue and red, pink, and other similarly colored floral patterns are printed in stripe. In the 1840s, when it became possible to print color gradations onto wool fabric, printed wool were popular in women's dress and countless variations were created.
Printing techniques evolved rapidly, and polychrome patterns which were previously only possible in woven silk could now be created by the cheaper method of printings. In 1834, the Perrotine printing method was invented, and suddenly delicate floral-pattern prints could be mass-produced at low price. Small-patterned printed material was popular for a variety of reasons: as well as being modestly priced, it hid dirty spots on clothes and any shortcomings in sewing techniques.