---
description: Widow's wear was once a rigidly codified corner of the fashion world
title: Photos: 100 Years of Exquisite Mourning Dresses
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9430aaf4b4298cc/6987613be53aba37144d5160/metropolitan-museum-death-becomes-her-mourning-dress-detail.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
---
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# 'Death Becomes Her:' 100 Years of Exquisite Mourning Dresses
by
[Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/)
## Sarah Begley
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Oct 21, 2014 1:13 PM CUT
Mourning Dress (Detail), 1902-1904 Black silk crape, black chiffon, black taffeta
Mourning Dress (Detail), 1902-1904 Black silk crape, black chiffon, black taffetaKarin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
by
[Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/)
## Sarah Begley
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Oct 21, 2014 1:13 PM CUT
“Widows are all much in demand,” sings the titular character in an English-language translation of _The Merry Widow_. “And if the poor things should be rich / Then there’s no end to the suitors at hand!”
And with so many gawkers gawking, a widow ought to be well dressed.
Mourning attire from 1815 to 1915 is the subject of a new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “[Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire](http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/exhibitions/2014/death-becomes-her "undefined"),” opening Tuesday in New York. And though _Harper’s Bazaar_ urged “nun-like simplicity” of widow’s weeds in 1868, many of the frocks on display are very grand, embellished with lace, fringe and beads.
The period’s dichotomy of dress reflects the opposing aspects of widowhood: on one hand, a widow’s two years of wearing black reflected her chaste sadness. On the other, it signaled that she was sexually experienced, maritally unattached and possibly endowed with a new fortune of her own.
Some also found all-black attire to be quite fetching. After Queen Victoria’s death, Consuelo Vanderbilt’s husband observed her in her mourning outfit and paid her a “rare compliment:” “If I die, I see you will not remain a widow long.”
Upper-class women like Vanderbilt could afford to have black gowns made in the contemporary fashion, reflecting current trends in all but color. If one could not afford a new wardrobe of mourning clothes, one might apply some advice from the Rolling Stones to their existing wardrobe and “[Paint It Black](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9snY79WeunQ "undefined")” (or dye it, anyway).
Different expectations of attire were in place depending on what family member a woman lost — a husband’s death required the most, a parent or sibling’s a bit less. As they moved into later mourning periods, they might incorporate white or gray stripes, checks and accents and even mauve was considered acceptable.
The strict codification of mourning attire only eased up during and after World War I, when so many lost husbands, fathers and sons. As _Vogue_ noted in 1918, “Women felt, and rightly, that the indulgence of personal grief, even to the extent of wearing mourning, was incompatible with their duty to themselves, to their country, and to the men who cheerfully laid down their lives.”
Mourning Ensemble, 1870-1872; Veil, ca. 1875 Black silk crape, black mousseline; Black silk crape Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Evening dress, ca. 1861 Black moire silk, black jet, black lace Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mourning Dress, 1902-1904 Black silk crape, black chiffon, black taffeta Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mourning Dress (Detail), 1902-1904 Black silk crape, black chiffon, black taffeta Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mourning Parasol, 1895-1900 Black silk, wood, metal, tortoiseshell The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Henri Bendel Mourning Hat, ca. 1915 Black straw, black silk, plastic, metal The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Evening Dress, 1902 Mauve silk tulle, sequins. \*Worn by Queen Alexandra Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Evening Dress, 1902 Black silk tulle, mauve silk chiffon, purple sequins. \*Worn by Queen Alexandra Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Brooch, ca. 1850; Tiffany & Co. Brooch, ca. 1868 Gold, jet, pearls, crystal, hair; Gold, pearls, black enamel, hair Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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