Dress of wool mousseline de laine

From the early 19th century onwards, women expressed their ornamental role in society through elaborate fashionable attire, like this dress with its boned bodice and long full skirt. A summer fabric, this lightweight wool was printed "à la disposition," with two borders of different widths, and a smaller all-over pattern through the centre. In the 1850s, such prints were all the rage, as illustrated in many fashion plates. The wide borders formed the horizontal flounces, and the narrow ones formed the bodice trim.