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Evening dress, petticoat and belt

Evening dress, petticoat and belt

  • Place of origin:

    Paris, France (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1922 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Callot (maker)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Printed silk voile embroidered with sequins and glass bugle beads, and trimmed with lace

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Lady Victoria Wemyss

  • Museum number:

    T.74 to B-1974

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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Superb materials and top-quality workmanship combine to create this stunning evening dress. Light-reflecting beads and sequins had long been popular decoration for evening fabrics, but in the 1920s the fashion reached its peak. The embroidery follows the lines of the printed floral design to enhance the pattern and catch the light. This dress was designed by the fashion house Callot Soeurs. Four sisters, Marie, Marthe, Regina and Joséphine, had opened a lace shop in 1888. The eldest, Marie (Madame Gerber), developed the couture side of the business at 9 avenue Matignon, Paris, where it continued until the mid 1930s. The sisters worked with exquisite and unusual materials, including Chinese silks and rubberised gabardine. Callot Soeurs was also known for its use of lace and decorated sheer fabrics.

This dress was worn by a British aristocrat, Winifred, Duchess of Portland. It was given to the Museum by Lady Victoria Wemyss and forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. This Collection was brought together by the society photographer Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980), contacted the well-dressed elite of Europe and North America to help create this lasting monument to the art of dress. The Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.

Physical description

Sleeveless evening dress of printed silk voile, lamé petticoat and net embroidered belt.
[Evening dress] Dress with a straight bodice and a dropped waistline marked by a wide matching belt with a bold paste buckle. Yellow voile printed with a pink and green floral pattern. Embroidered with pearlised sequins and bugle beads. Sleeveless with narrow shoulder straps and a low V-neck with an inset of two layers of cream net. The under layer is embroidered with floral scrolls and outlined in gold thread. The neck has a border of embroidered sequins and beads in coiling shapes. The back is V-necked with an inset of net.
[Petticoat] Slightly flared skirt petticoat of pointed panels with scalloped hems has inset flounces of gold lace which echo the bodice's inset decorative panel. Silver and pink lamé. Square cut bodice and thin straps. Straight cut with a low waist.
[Belt] Belt of net embroidered with pearly pink and green sequins and gold bugle beads in a pattern to match the neck border of the dress. With a paste-buckle.

Place of Origin

Paris, France (made)

Date

ca. 1922 (made)

Artist/maker

Callot (maker)

Materials and Techniques

Printed silk voile embroidered with sequins and glass bugle beads, and trimmed with lace

Object history note

This dress was worn by Winifred, Duchess of Portland. It was given to the Museum by Lady Victoria Wemyss and forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. The Cecil Beaton Collection was brought together by the late Sir Cecil Beaton. With great energy and determination Sir Cecil contacted the well-dressed elite of Europe and America to bring this lasting monument to the art of dress. The collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue which detailed its enormous range. This object is listed in the catalogue as cat. 40 page 20.

Descriptive line

Sleeveless evening dress of printed silk voile, lamé petticoat and net embroidered belt, made by Callot Soeurs, Paris, ca. 1922

Exhibition History

Fashion: an anthology by Cecil Beaton (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1972-31/12/1972)

Categories

Embroidery; Fashion; Lace; Women's clothes

Collection code

T&F

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Qr_O16783
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