By the close of the 18th century, heavy and structured silk gowns had given way to a softer and more natural form. The high empire waist, sitting just below the bust, was an anachronistic reflection of ancient Grecian and Roman statuary.

Illustrations by Janet Arnold for her book Patterns of Fashion 1.

We associate this period and style most readily with the novels of Jane Austin, but it is most importantly a time of accelerating industrialization, colonization and exploitation. Printed cottons and muslins became more readily available using raw materials from the Indian subcontinent and from the slave states of the American south. We must acknowledge the horrors of colonization and slavery as an important context of fashion history.