Object: Evening dress
Brand:
Chanel
(French, founded 1914)
Designer:
Gabrielle Chanel
(1883 - 1971)
Date: c.1932
Medium: Cream silk charmeuse and Alençon lace
Country: France
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Hill Montague III
Object number: 77.133.2
DescriptionLong sleeveless evening dress in alternating bands of cream silk charmeuse and Alençon lace; chemise bodice with draped lace collar; flared circle skirt with graduated bands of lace and satin, ending in wide lace hem banded underneath with horse hair braid; attached slip with lace flounce.
Label Text:For the dress on the right, Chanel alternates bands of silk charmeuse and Alençon lace, a tulle decorated with delicate needlepoint. Handmade lace has historically been one of the finest luxuries, and Alençon became a center of lace production in the late 17th century, when Louis XIV's finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert set up the Royal Lace Manufactory. (Shown with 77.89.1)
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Luxury
- Fashioning the Modern Woman: The Art of the Couturiere, 1919-1939