Object: Evening dress
Designer:
Elsa Schiaparelli
(1890 - 1973)
Date: c.1939
Medium: Bronze and black shot silk taffeta
Country: France
Credit Line: Lent by Mrs. Michael Blankfort
Object number: PL74.1.55
DescriptionLong evening dress in bronze and black shot taffeta brocaded with polka dots; fitted, boned bodice with stylized sweetheart front, V-back neck, and cap sleeves; long bias cut straight skirt with long split bustle pouf at CB released into accordion pleated train; black braid inner waistband; couture
Label Text:In the late 1930s, a number of French fashion designers, including Chanel and Schiaparelli, began to channel the fashions of the Belle Epoque. Even the bustle was revived, perhaps because it evoked nostalgia for a prewar past of luxury and elegance. This romantic historicism ended with the outbreak of WWII, only to begin again with the New Look.
In 1939, the New York Times noted that although some of the “new” bustle dresses had understructures, many were merely composed of “bows and puffs and gatherings at the back,” as is the case with this example by Schiaparelli.
In 1939, the New York Times noted that although some of the “new” bustle dresses had understructures, many were merely composed of “bows and puffs and gatherings at the back,” as is the case with this example by Schiaparelli.
Exhibitions:
- Luxury
- RetroSpective