Medium: Pink silk chiffon, silk ribbon, and metallic flowers

Date: c. 1920

Country: USA

Credit: Gift of Linda Wilson

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.”

Object Number: 84.201.1