Cocktail Dress thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cocktail Dress

early 1950s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Norman Hartnell was best known as the couturier to the British royal family. Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s he designed a wide range of clothes that Princess Margaret wore for her official duties. This evening dress is made in a heavy black ribbed silk called grosgrain. It shows the Princess's taste for uncluttered simple lines with the minimum of decoration. Here just the shoulder straps are embroidered with silvered beads and diamantés. The skirt is the most important feature. It is constructed in ten panels and finished with bold scallops at the hem. The heavy weight and density of the fabric holds the flared shape of the skirt and its wave-like folds.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk and wool faille lined with horsehair, embroidered with sequins and diamanté
Brief description
Cocktail dress of thick black silk and wool faille lined with horsehair, designed by N. Hartnell, London, early 1950s
Physical description
Cocktail dress of thick black silk and wool faille lined with horsehair. The bodice is tight and moulded to a heart-shaped décolleté, and with shoulder straps embroidered with sequins and diamanté. The skirt falls in petal-shaped panels from the waist and creates a scalloped hem. The dress has no lining.
Dimensions
  • Width: 50cm (Note: Maximum Width on Stockman)
  • Depth: 40cm (Note: Maximum Width on Stockman)
  • Height: 1650cm (Note: Maximum Width on Stockman)
UK size 12.
Production typeHaute couture
Gallery label
Evening dress Norman Hartnell (1901-79) London Early 1950s Apart from mourning dress, it was unusual for the royal family to wear black. As Hartnell observed: 'As a rule, ladies of the Royal Family wear light coloured clothes because such colours are more discernible against a great crowd.' Silk and wool faille lined with horsehair, embroidered with sequins and diamante Given by Princess Margaret V&A: T.238-1986
Credit line
Given by HRH Princess Margaret
Object history
Registered File number 1985/2045.
Summary
Norman Hartnell was best known as the couturier to the British royal family. Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s he designed a wide range of clothes that Princess Margaret wore for her official duties. This evening dress is made in a heavy black ribbed silk called grosgrain. It shows the Princess's taste for uncluttered simple lines with the minimum of decoration. Here just the shoulder straps are embroidered with silvered beads and diamantés. The skirt is the most important feature. It is constructed in ten panels and finished with bold scallops at the hem. The heavy weight and density of the fabric holds the flared shape of the skirt and its wave-like folds.
Bibliographic references
  • de la Haye, A. 'Material Evidence' in Wilcox, C., ed. The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957 London: V&A Publications, 2007, p. 106 and pl. 4.16
  • Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999.
Collection
Accession number
T.238-1986

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Record createdFebruary 24, 2003
Record URL
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