Feathers, long a staple of fashionable design, became paramount to the well-dressed in nineteenth-century Europe and the United States. They increasingly decorated the edges of custom-made dresses, graced hats, or adorned elaborate hairstyles.

Much like the production of John James Audubon’s Birds of America series, this obsession with feathers in fashion reflected larger cultural interests in understanding and replicating the natural world. Though beautiful to look at, these designs ultimately came at an ecological price—with many bird populations decimated to meet demand.

Join art historian Erin Wilson as she explores these sartorial and environmental legacies.

Aigrettes, Egrets, and Regrets:
Nineteenth-Century Fashion and the Desire for Feathers
Thursday, January 9, 2025
6:00 PM–7:00 PM
Marly Room
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg FL 33701

Free for MFA Members; $15 for Not-Yet-Members (Youth 17 and under are Free!)*

*Program ticket includes Art After Dark admission from 5:00 PM–8:00 PM! Arrive early or stay late to explore the MFA Collection Galleries, Special Exhibitions, and MFA Shop!