Object: Ballgown
Designer:
Emile Pasquier
Date: 1889-1890
Medium: Green/brown changéant silk velvet, lace, beads, rhinestones, and gold metallic cord
Country: France
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Object number: P91.55.6
DescriptionBallgown in green/brown changeant velvet and green faille with areas heavily embroidered in pearls, rhinestones, gold metallic couched cords, and strands of ochre and clear beads; V-neck boned bodice, elbow-length puffed and fitted sleeve, floor-length bell skirt with bustle and train, lace panel draped at right side
Label Text:Fashions of the fin de siècle used shimmering and elaborate surface decoration to create the image of Woman as an expensive, desirable object. Women in highly ornamented outfits literally embodied their husbands’ wealth, becoming paragons of seductive artifice. Jean Baudrillard called this “a production of value through exteriority.”
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy
- Femme Fatale: Fashion and Visual Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Paris
- Luxury
- Paris, Capital of Fashion