Below: Woman in colorful chador. Worn by many Muslim
women for reasons of modesty, the Islamic chador first
developed during the Abbasid Era (750–1258), when the
dynastic color was black. Most women continue to wear a
black chador, though some choose color. (See Chador)
© Keren
Su/Corbis.
Right top: Corset worn by Madonna. Jean-Paul Gaultier
designed this famous corset for Madonna’s 1991 Blonde
Ambition tour. Thanks to Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, and
other designers, corsets saw a resurgence of popularity in the
late twentieth century. (See Corset)
AP/Wide World Photos.
Right bottom: Russian formal court dress. During the
nineteenth century, distinctive court dress began to evolve in
many countries. Russian court dress incorporated traditional
design elements, while other nations based their designs on
military patterns. (See Court Dress)
© Reproduced by permission of
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia/Corbis.