Eleanor Houghton, Charlotte Brontë’s Striped Silk Dress, Pen and ink with watercolour, 2021
Charlotte would have worn this dress to some of the conspicuous events in London to which she was invited after she became famous. Gowns, with the addition of floral adornments, were customarily reserved for formal evening events such as the theatre or the opera, as they could not be laundered. Eleanor Houghton’s recent research has revealed that this striped silk gown is probably one of those found holed up in a box in the wall of the parsonage.