Evening Dress
1922-1923 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Throughout the 1920s Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) excelled in the creation of ultra-feminine dresses with fitted bodices and long, full skirts, known as robes de style, of which this evening dress is an example. The black fine silk taffeta dress with boat neckline, and small, capped half-sleeves fastens with poppers down the left side. A pair of immense fern-like fronds are machine-embroidered in furry cream chenille on the skirt, and the cream colour is echoed in floating bands caught in silk georgette bows at the right sleeve and left waist.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk taffeta trimmed with machine-embroidered chenille and silk georgette |
| Brief description | Evening dress of embroidered silk taffeta, designed by Jeanne Lanvin, Paris, winter 1922-1923 |
| Physical description | Evening dress of black fine silk taffeta with boat neckline and capped half-sleeves gathered into the armhole. It has a natural waistline onto which the long, full skirt is gathered. The skirt front is embroidered with two large leafy fronds in cream chenille. The dress fastens with poppers down the left side. It has a creamy white georgette belt with a bow and a creamy georgette bow with streamers which falls from under the right hand sleeve. |
| Dimensions | Approx. size 10-12 |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | PICTURE DRESS, silk taffeta, chenille embroidery and georgette.
French, Paris, Jeanne Lanvin, Winter 1922-23
Many of Jeanne Lanvin's 1920s designs were feminine and full skirted at a time when her fellow couturiers were issuing boyish, tubular clothes. The only feature they had in common was the dropped waist. Leading fashion illustrators for magazines such as The Gazette du Bon Ton delighted in setting her romantic designs in idyllic park or garden landscapes.
This dress in the lightest silk taffeta is typical of her picturesque creations. The cut and finishing of her clothes are always immaculate. Here the shallow boat neckline, armholes, sleeve edges and hem are trimmed with narrow self-binding. The blackness is skilfully relieved by two large fronds of cream chenille and georgette bows with streamers.
T.334-1978(1983-84) |
| Summary | Throughout the 1920s Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) excelled in the creation of ultra-feminine dresses with fitted bodices and long, full skirts, known as robes de style, of which this evening dress is an example. The black fine silk taffeta dress with boat neckline, and small, capped half-sleeves fastens with poppers down the left side. A pair of immense fern-like fronds are machine-embroidered in furry cream chenille on the skirt, and the cream colour is echoed in floating bands caught in silk georgette bows at the right sleeve and left waist. |
| Bibliographic reference | Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.334-1978 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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