the Met Museum’s weirdly fetishizing description of that one gorgeous blue velvet Victorian cape squats in my mind without paying rent
this is the cape:
Pretty! Made by Emile Pingat! Very Gothic! love it.
this is part of the description:
The rich color of the royal blue velvet is evocative of the original wearer who at that point in time would have been seen as a precious jewel who required continual attention and assistance. That perceived helplessness is also reflected in the cape’s lack of armholes, which would limit easy mobility.
…I. what.
I suspect it’s blue because she liked blue and commissioned it that way (or selected that one ready-made for the color). and, my guy, there is clearly a big front opening through which one can reach for things. would you say that about a men’s cape without armholes? they definitely existed, and plenty of women’s capes DID have them. how does this No Armholes For Female Helplessness theory play out in view of those facts?
I also suspect this person wrote that part of the description one-handed
