Dress
1971 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This purple jersey dress and the orange feather boa (see T.946-1994) worn with it were both bought from Biba in 1971. They were worn by the donor to the first Gay Liberation Front ball at Kensington Town Hall in 1971. This was the first open, publicly-advertised gay dance in the United Kingdom. The donor, who hand-crocheted the tank-top (see T.947-1994) worn with the dress remembered:
"I wore long purple boots from Anello & Davide with it. This was the period of positive (i.e. not sexless) hippie androgny, and butch was definitely not politically correct. Quite a few lesbians wore Biba clothes, and they were even more commonly worn by feminists."
"I wore long purple boots from Anello & Davide with it. This was the period of positive (i.e. not sexless) hippie androgny, and butch was definitely not politically correct. Quite a few lesbians wore Biba clothes, and they were even more commonly worn by feminists."
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cotton jersey |
| Brief description | Dress, purplish-pink cotton jersey, Biba, Great Britain, 1971 |
| Physical description | Purplish-pink cotton jersey long dress with full sleeves. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Ready to wear |
| Credit line | Given by Elizabeth Wilson |
| Object history | Registered File number 1994/1859, Streetstyle exhibition 1994-1995, in the exhibition it was part of an outfit called 'Lesbian style UK 1971' (includes the feather boa T.946-1994 and the tank top T.947-1994). Worn by Elizabeth Wilson to the first Gay Liberation Front Ball in the Old Kensington Town Hall with long purple boots from Anello & Davide. She said "This was the period of positive (i.e., not sexless) hippie androgyny and butch was definitely not politically correct. Quite a few lesbians wore Biba clothes, and they were even more commonly worn by feminists generally." (Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads & Skaters, Gay & Lesbian section). |
| Summary | This purple jersey dress and the orange feather boa (see T.946-1994) worn with it were both bought from Biba in 1971. They were worn by the donor to the first Gay Liberation Front ball at Kensington Town Hall in 1971. This was the first open, publicly-advertised gay dance in the United Kingdom. The donor, who hand-crocheted the tank-top (see T.947-1994) worn with the dress remembered: "I wore long purple boots from Anello & Davide with it. This was the period of positive (i.e. not sexless) hippie androgny, and butch was definitely not politically correct. Quite a few lesbians wore Biba clothes, and they were even more commonly worn by feminists." |
| Bibliographic reference | Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads & Skaters : Subcultural Style from the Forties to the Nineties
Described in the exhibition publication, part of an outfit called 'Lesbian style UK 1971'. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.945-1994 |
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| Record created | November 26, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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