Medium: Cotton denim and pearl

Date: c. 1947

Country: France

Credit: Gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren

For this blouse, Elsa Schiaparelli used a textile reminiscent of chambray, and adorned it with tinted, pearl buttons. Pearl-essence buttons were, by this time, a distinctive feature of rodeo shirts that companies like Levi’s® produced to outfit dude ranch vacationers. By combining elements of “blue collar” and rodeo shirts, Schiaparelli made a couture homage to Americana.

Object Number: 70.57.36