Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire

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A widow and her daughter in traditional mourning attire.

Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that ran from October 21, 2014, to February 1, 2015.[1][2][3] The exhibition featured mourning attire from 1815 to 1915, primarily from the collection of the Met's Anna Wintour Costume Center[4]and organized by curator Harold Koda with assistance from Jessica Regan.

During this time, it was uncommon to live past the age of fifty and childhood or deaths during childbirth were frequent, so there were often instances for grieving. The exhibition depicted a timeline of clothing worn during funerals. Through the different attire depicted, we are able to identify individual stages of mourning and who was lost and their importance or relation to each separate figure. Black remains to be the traditional color worn but grey and navy are also used to represent other circumstances and relationships. Economic situations of any being did not hold them back from participating in the lamentation of a loved one.

This display was primarily focused on mourning garments worn by women as opposed to men. However, it does vaguely depict the simple black suit that men traditionally wore, including a hat with a wide black band, but this was not always worn as the suit was. Even so, the clothing of the women during this time period was emphasized more. They were described as having worn a “mourning crape,” or a light crinkled gauze material, processed to get this texture and lusterless appearance, as an attempt to make the outfit consciously bleak. It was also said that women believed that the indulgence of personal grief was incompatible with their duties to themselves.

References[]

  1. ^ Givhan, Robin (November 12, 2014). "Grief as a fashion statement in 'Death Becomes Her' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Jacobs, Laura (October 29, 2014). "The Dying of the Light: review of 'Death Becomes Her' at the Met". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  3. ^ "New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art showcases 'Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire'". WHNT News. November 2, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
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