Throughout the 19th century, men wore top hats for business, pleasure and formal occasions (pearl gray for daytime, black for day or night) making its wearer feel taller, handsomer and suave. By 1900 top hats were …

A collection of daguerreotypes of men, women, and children taken between 1840 and 1860 is analyzed in “My Likeness Taken: Daguerreian Portraits in America” to clarify datable clothing and fashion components. With subjects from among …

Showcased are breathtaking evening dresses from the late 1860s. All are abundantly decorated with yards upon yards of lace, ruffles, and ribbon. Featured are bodices with short tight sleeves ornamented with puffs and long trains accented with sashes and bows.

Mourning goods were manufactured to order and graded first, second and third; every sigh with its peculiar tint, until at last the world observed that the days of sadness were past by the disappearance of the color of black and its various shades.