Dress c. 1937

Julie C. Brush made this dress design with purple, black and green ink, likely conjuring an atmosphere of late nineteenth-century fashion. I imagine Brush meticulously sketching the dress, and then filling it in with color. She may have been imagining herself wearing it. The dress has big puffy sleeves, a tailored bodice, and a full skirt – a silhouette so specific to the era. It's interesting how this rendering is a blend of technical drawing and fashion illustration. The flat quality of the paper is interesting, but the dress still looks quite voluminous. Was she designing, or just fantasizing? I feel like that is part of the work. It makes me think about the relationship between art and life. Brush, like so many artists before and after her, was trying to capture a feeling, a mood, an era. There’s something really enduring and kind of beautiful about that.