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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Fashion, Room 40

La Sylphide

Evening Dress
1937 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dress, called La Sylphide, was designed by the British-North American fashion designer Charles James (1906–1978), who worked in New York in the United States and London, England as well as Paris in France, where this dress is from.

James worked in a range of styles from the long bias-cut dresses so popular in these parts of the world in the 1930s to avant-garde creations to historically inspired outfits like La Sylphide. This name comes from a 19th-century French ballet, and while the thin pink straps and uneven hemline may have been modern touches, there are a number of further references to the 19th century, from the full skirt to the cinched waist. With the waistband James was referencing a specific form of 1860s corsetry worn under the bust.

This particular yellow and pink version of La Sylphide was worn by the British artist Marit Guinness Aschan as a young woman. She was one of James's long-term supporters. The couture design is also known to have been carried out in other colourways, such as mauve and white.

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Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Evening Dress
  • Waistband
  • Corsage
Titles
  • La Sylphide (assigned by artist)
  • Corselette (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Silk organza and satin with artificial flowers
Brief description
La Sylphide, evening dress (dress, waistband and corsage), silk organza and satin with artificial flowers, designed by Charles James, Paris, France, 1937
Physical description
Evening dress ensemble consisting of evening dress, waistband and corsage. Yellow silk organza gown with draped neckline and twisted shoulder straps designed to reveal the corsage of yellow and pale pink flowers and green leaves and the pale yellow silk satin bodice section with narrow pink straps. The full-length skirt is layered and full, and slightly shorter at the sides. The dress is cinched in at the waist with a pale yellow silk satin waistband, based on an underbust corset style from the 1860s often made from a colourful silk textile.
Object history
Purchased. Registered File number 1993/723.

Worn by the British artist Marit Guinness Aschan as a young woman.
Summary
This dress, called La Sylphide, was designed by the British-North American fashion designer Charles James (1906–1978), who worked in New York in the United States and London, England as well as Paris in France, where this dress is from.

James worked in a range of styles from the long bias-cut dresses so popular in these parts of the world in the 1930s to avant-garde creations to historically inspired outfits like La Sylphide. This name comes from a 19th-century French ballet, and while the thin pink straps and uneven hemline may have been modern touches, there are a number of further references to the 19th century, from the full skirt to the cinched waist. With the waistband James was referencing a specific form of 1860s corsetry worn under the bust.

This particular yellow and pink version of La Sylphide was worn by the British artist Marit Guinness Aschan as a young woman. She was one of James's long-term supporters. The couture design is also known to have been carried out in other colourways, such as mauve and white.
Bibliographic references
  • Features in Valerie Mendes and Amy de la Haye, Fashion Since 1900 (Thames & Hudson)
  • See Elizabeth Ann Coleman, The Genius of Charles James, catalogue number 37, where the Corselette or La Sylphide dress is identified as being made in Paris in 1937. This medium- and pale-yellow model is not among those described in the catalogue, and may well be the version photographed by Cecil Beaton for US Vogue, June 1 1937, page 49.
  • Jan G. Reeder, Curator, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Taken May, 2011, Compiled September, 2011 Fabric is a yellow organza over two layers pink, one organza, one silk crepe (?) The bodice constructed like the stiff brocaded “beetle” dress at Birr. Photo notes: Hem: Seaming at bottom of hem is various geometric shapes Bodice: gussets under the arms and triple folding of fabric appear frequently in his early works Corselette: Compared to the Birr Sylphide corselette:stitching is very similar but not identical Back (on form): note how beautifully the corselette settles into the construction of the waist of the dress and fits on the hip yoke. Front (on form): skirt being held out at the points that are created in cut of skirt at knee level. There are 6 or 8 points around the skirt. GCJ cat. 37
Collection
Accession number
T.226:1 to 3-1993

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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