This dress has a sewn-on skirt over a bustle – the ‘enhanced behind’ that gave ladies a distinctive silhouette by 1900. When the dress was donated to the Centraal Museum in 1942, Carla de Jonge had just started as one of the first female directors in the Netherlands. As a curator, De Jonge had built up a solid fashion collection from 1917 onwards. Her track record – research, publications, acquisitions, exhibitions – is impressive. [text 2025]