Black velvet choker Symbolism
A black velvet choker serves as a crisp, modern accent that frames the neck and concentrates attention on self-presentation. In Berthe Morisot’s late-19th-century painting, its stark line punctuates soft, atmospheric brushwork, signaling contemporary fashion and self-definition.
Black velvet choker in Woman at Her Toilette
In Woman at Her Toilette (1875–1880) by Berthe Morisot, the black velvet choker functions as a visual anchor within the painting’s silvery-violet haze. Seen from behind as she adjusts her hair, the figure’s face is withheld in the mirror’s blur; powders, jars, and a white flower suggest the setting, but the choker provides the clearest, sharpest sign of modern self-fashioning. Its dark band concentrates the viewer’s gaze, articulating subjectivity through a single, decisive accessory.
