In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, mourning in North America followed British customs that placed women and their clothing at the center of public expressions of grief. Strict etiquette governed behavior, dress, home décor, and the gradual return to color over months or even years. This exhibition explores the three stages of mourning dress, from deep mourning’s matte black fabrics to the softened hues of half mourning. On view are historic dresses, parasols, and hair art that reveal how color, texture, and ornament signaled both loss and social expectation.