Dress | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections
Puffs of linen lawn interspersed with bands of silk satin and lace give this sleeve a filmy, weightless quality. They are reminiscent of the puffings on 1620s gowns which swelled out above and below the elbow, confined at intervals by ribbons. This device had been used throughout the nineteenth century in one form or another but it suited the light fabrics of 1860s summer dresses particularly well. Ca 1868
