Sleeveless evening dress of crêpe, designed and made by Farquharson & Wheelock, New York, 1928

Heavy turquoise-blue crêpe sleeveless evening dress, straight cut and machine-pleated from the neck to hem. Self-fabric piping round the neck and armholes. Interior canvas waist stay to hold the dress in place at the hips. Medium low neck. Hand-stitched.

This dress was worn by Miss Emilie Grigsby (1876-1964) who was a wealthy independent American who came to England from New York. She established a salon which was frequented by writers and the military. She was considered to be one of the great international beauties, with extremely pale, almost transparent skin and golden hair. She was frequently the subject of articles in the New York Times during the early 20th century. Her clothes were purchased from couturiers in London, Paris, and New York, and demonstrated an elegantly avant-garde approach to style.

An identical model of the dress in white satin was given to the Circulation Department at the time of acquisition, the number of this dress is CIRC.330-1968.

T.140-1967