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Not currently on display at the V&A

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Dress Fabric
1927 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Paris Exhibition of decorative arts of 1925 had an enormous impact on American design when it toured the USA the following year. It encouraged American designers to create furniture and interiors in the modern style. One example is this printed silk dress fabric called ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ by Ralph Barton, a well-known caricaturist, for the Stehli Silks Corporation. The pattern shows men in top hats focusing their attention on blonde women. It takes its inspiration from Anita Loos’s satirical novel of the same name, published in 1925. This tells the story of a flapper who becomes a film star by marrying a wealthy man. (The 1953 film of the novel was directed by Howard Hawkes and starred Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.)

The textile is part of the ‘Americana’ range of dress fabrics which Stehli Silks commissioned from leading artists in 1927. To make a change from ubiquitous floral patterns, these fabrics were designed specifically to depict contemporary American life.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGentlemen Prefer Blondes (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Printed silk crêpe de Chine
Brief description
Printed silk crêpe de Chine, USA, 1927.
Physical description
Cartoon-like repeating image of a row of top-hatted men ogling a blonde woman through monocles while a row of brunette women are ignored.
Dimensions
  • Length: 50cm
  • Width: 47.5cm
Style
Gallery label
The Artistic Diretor of Stehli Silks claimed that these silks asserted the individuality of American design: 'for modern American women by modern American artists reflecting the modern American scene as vitally as Oberkampf's toiles de Jouy told the story of 18th-century France'.
Credit line
Given by the Stehli Silks Corporation
Object history
Historical significance: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is the title of a satirical novel by Anita Loos, published in 1925. The protagonist is a flapper who becomes a film star by marrying a wealthy man. The 1953 film directed by Howard Hawkes and based on the novel starred Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceGentlemen Prefer Blondes
Summary
The Paris Exhibition of decorative arts of 1925 had an enormous impact on American design when it toured the USA the following year. It encouraged American designers to create furniture and interiors in the modern style. One example is this printed silk dress fabric called ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ by Ralph Barton, a well-known caricaturist, for the Stehli Silks Corporation. The pattern shows men in top hats focusing their attention on blonde women. It takes its inspiration from Anita Loos’s satirical novel of the same name, published in 1925. This tells the story of a flapper who becomes a film star by marrying a wealthy man. (The 1953 film of the novel was directed by Howard Hawkes and starred Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell.)

The textile is part of the ‘Americana’ range of dress fabrics which Stehli Silks commissioned from leading artists in 1927. To make a change from ubiquitous floral patterns, these fabrics were designed specifically to depict contemporary American life.
Bibliographic reference
Samuels, Charlotte. Art Deco Textiles. London : V&A Publications, 2003. Plate 65.
Collection
Accession number
T.87L-1930

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Record createdAugust 29, 2002
Record URL
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