Wedding dress with pinked flounces, Espérance Pos, 1891

silk, More details

The tiny waist (59 cm) of the Amsterdam bride Seraphine Asscher came very close to the then prevailing ideal of beauty: the perfect waist fit between two male hands. In keeping with tradition, the seamstress made a modest dress for this Jewish bride, but decorated the bodice and train with fashionable ruffled ‘effilé flounces.’ This technique involves cutting away fabric to create movement and texture.