A wardrobe of one’s own: the fashion exhibition on the 19th-century revolution of women’s dress at the Palais Galliera

At the Palais Galliera, the exhibition A Wardrobe of One’s Own: Dissident Femininities in the 19th Century reveals a little-known facet of women's fashion. From September 26, 2026 to February 14, 2027, more than 350 works trace how 19th‑century women appropriated the male wardrobe. An exhibition where clothing becomes a tool for emancipation and for reshaping identities.

At the Palais Galliera, fashion is changing its cut and silhouette. With the exhibition A Wardrobe of One's Own. Dissident Femininities in the 19th Century, running from 26 September 2026 to 14 February 2027, the museum is presenting more than 350 works to shed light on a crucial yet often overlooked chapter of fashion history: how women have appropriated the codes of men's wardrobes, in France and in the Anglo-Saxon world.

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The exhibition unfolds a wardrobe in flux: Amazonian costumes, trousers, suits, ties, bow ties, and even top hats. Each piece signals a shift in boundaries, both stylistic and social. Across from them, paintings, photographs, and fashion posters enrich the story and situate these choices within their cultural context.

Behind these borrowings, a broader dynamic is taking shape. In sport, social struggles, and expressions of minority identities, clothing accompanies the transformation of women’s roles, from drag to cross-dressing, all while challenging gender binaries.

As the exhibition unfolds, iconic figures like Marie-Antoinette, George Sand, Rosa Bonheur, and Natalie Clifford Barney rub shoulders with anonymous subjects uncovered in an unprecedented collection of amateur photographs.

Backstage, the exhibition offers a precise, embodied reading of the fashion of the 19th century, showing how these dissenting sartorial practices participate in redefining, piece by piece, the place of women in society.

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A wardrobe of one’s own: the fashion exhibition on the 19th-century revolution of women’s dress at the Palais Galliera

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