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| House of Worth Evening Gown ca. 1882 silk satin and silk chiffon Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
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| House of Worth Evening Cloak 1889 embroidered silk with dyed and beaded lace Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
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| House of Worth Evening Gown ca. 1893 silk satin, silk chiffon and silk velvet National Museum of American History, Washington DC |
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| Maison Goupy Day Dress 1919 printed cotton and silk velvet Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
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| Callot Soeurs Evening Gown 1922 beaded and embroidered silk National Museum of American History Washington DC |
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| Callot Soeurs Evening Gown ca. 1923-26 printed and beaded silk velvet and lace Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
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| Christian Dior Wedding Gown 1956 silk taffeta, silk tulle and lace National Museum of American History, Washington DC |
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| Cristóbal Balenciaga Cocktail Coat 1956 silk gros-de-Naples Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
-by-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-(detail)-1957-wool-knit-Museo-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-Getaria-Spain.jpg) |
| Cristóbal Balenciaga Ensemble (Sweater and Skirt) 1957 wool knit Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
-1960-wool-Museo-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-Getaria-Spain.jpg) |
| Cristóbal Balenciaga Coat 1960 wool Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
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| Cristóbal Balenciaga Evening Gown 1960 embroidered silk gros-de-Naples Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
-by-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-(detail)-1961-silk-crepe-Museo-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-Getaria-Spain.jpg) |
| Cristóbal Balenciaga Ensemble (Blouse and Skirt) 1961 silk crepe Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
-1968-wool-crepe-Museo-Crist%C3%B3bal-Balenciaga-Getaria-Spain.jpg) |
| Cristóbal Balenciaga Day Dress 1968 wool crepe Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga, Getaria, Spain |
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| Hubert de Givenchy Evening Gown 1982 cotton knit with nylon tulle and plastic sequins Philadelphia Museum of Art |
-embroidered-silk-satin-(skirt)-Philadelphia-Museum-of-Art.jpg) |
| Emanuel Ungaro Evening Ensemble 1989 jacket: silk-cotton twill and rayon velvet skirt: embroidered silk satin Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| John Galliano for Dior Suit 1998 wool and silk, with wool faux-fur Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| Giambattista Valli Two-Piece Dress 2014 silk taffeta and silk tulle Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
They which forewent us did leave a room for us, and should we grieve to do the same to those which should come after us? Who, being admitted to see the exquisite rarities of some antiquary's cabinet, is grieved, all viewed, to have the curtain drawn, and give place to new pilgrims? And when the Lord of this universe hath showed us the various wonders of his amazing frame, should we take it to heart when he thinketh time to dislodge? This is his unalterable and unevitable decree: as we had no part of our will in our entrance into this life, we should not presume of any on our leaving it, but soberly learn to will that which he wills, whose very willing giveth being to all that it wills; and adoring the Orderer, not repine at the order and laws, which all-where and all-ways are so perfectly established that who would essay to alter and amend any of them, he should either make them worse or desire things beyond the level of possibility. All that is necessary and convenient for us they have bestowed upon us and freely granted; and what they have not bestowed nor granted us, neither is it necessary nor convenient that we should have it.
– William Drummond of Hawthornden, from A Cypress Grove (London: Hawthornden Press, 1919, reprinting the original edition of 1623)