Object: Evening dress
Retailer:
Bonwit Teller
(American)
Date: c. 1920
Medium: Silk chiffon, silk ribbon, and metallic flowers
Country: USA
Credit Line: Gift of Linda Wilson
Object number: 84.201.1
DescriptionMauve pink silk chiffon gown; street length underdress, square neck sleeveless chemise, pink chiffon lining; overdress with cocoon front, gathered to drop waist center front with pink satin and metallic flowers; straight-line trained back.
Label Text:Bonwit Teller provided American women of style with fashionable clothing that ranged from imported originals to models designed in-house. The pure drapery of this tea gown suggests that it was custom-made in the store’s couture salon, and probably was based on a Paris design. Like other high-end department stores, Bonwit Teller employed fashionable young women as “stylists” to scout the newest Paris trends. A company brochure from the 1920s proudly states: “discriminating women…select here their entire wardrobes.”
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Arbiters of Style
- Dance and Fashion