Evening Dress
ca. 1933 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Throughout the 1930s Hartnell designed stage clothes for leading actresses, including Gertrude Lawrence, Evelyn Laye and Gladys Cooper. In his autobiography, Silver and Gold (1955), he summed up his position in 1934: 'The well-dressed women of society flocked to my dress parades and . . . bought generously, and the Press was proving both amiable and encouraging'. The turning-point in his career came in 1935, when Lady Alice Montague Douglas-Scott asked him to design the wedding dress for her marriage to the Duke of Gloucester. Royalty was then added to his already impressive list of customers and his business flourished. Hartnell is best known for his intricately embroidered dresses for grand occasions, especially those made for Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in the 1950s. This earlier and more modest evening dress is bias-cut, and the design skilfully contrasts ruffled sleeves with knife-pleated godets and a perfectly plain bodice.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Silk crêpe faced with velvet |
| Brief description | Evening dress of silk crêpe and velvet with sash, designed by Norman Hartnell, London, ca. 1933. |
| Physical description | Evening dress of pink silk crêpe and faced with velvet and matching sash. |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs V. Fisher |
| Summary | Throughout the 1930s Hartnell designed stage clothes for leading actresses, including Gertrude Lawrence, Evelyn Laye and Gladys Cooper. In his autobiography, Silver and Gold (1955), he summed up his position in 1934: 'The well-dressed women of society flocked to my dress parades and . . . bought generously, and the Press was proving both amiable and encouraging'. The turning-point in his career came in 1935, when Lady Alice Montague Douglas-Scott asked him to design the wedding dress for her marriage to the Duke of Gloucester. Royalty was then added to his already impressive list of customers and his business flourished. Hartnell is best known for his intricately embroidered dresses for grand occasions, especially those made for Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in the 1950s. This earlier and more modest evening dress is bias-cut, and the design skilfully contrasts ruffled sleeves with knife-pleated godets and a perfectly plain bodice. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.190&A-1973 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
