Fashion Design
1936-39 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Norman Hartnell was best known as one of the couturiers to the British royal family. From the late 1930s to the 1970s he designed a wide range of clothes that Queen Elizabeth, her daughters the Princesses Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret, and other members of the Royal Family wore for their official duties as well as in their personal lives. He opened his couture house in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London in 1923.
This elegant wine-coloured crepe evening gown and peach jacket were designed for Queen Elizabeth and probably formed part of her personal wardrobe, rather than being intended for state occasions. She would have worn them to dinner or for evening engagements held away from the public eye. The neckline of the dress and the jacket are encrusted with beading, sequins and gemstones. Such elaborate embroidery was a Hartnell trademark, and there is a sample of the beading and fabric attached to the sketch.
This elegant wine-coloured crepe evening gown and peach jacket were designed for Queen Elizabeth and probably formed part of her personal wardrobe, rather than being intended for state occasions. She would have worn them to dinner or for evening engagements held away from the public eye. The neckline of the dress and the jacket are encrusted with beading, sequins and gemstones. Such elaborate embroidery was a Hartnell trademark, and there is a sample of the beading and fabric attached to the sketch.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | pencil, watercolour, bodycolour, coloured chalk, coloured inks. Attached fabric sample of crepe with glass and paste beading and gemstones. |
| Brief description | Norman Hartnell. Dress design for H.M. Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), 1936-39. Attached fabric sample, pale peach crepe with glass and paste beading and gemstones. |
| Physical description | Dress design for H.M. Queen Elizabeth. Long evening or dinner dress of wine crepe with contrasting short evening jacket in peach crepe, both embroidered with pink glass beads, sequins and paste gemstones. Attached fabric sample, pale peach crepe with glass and paste beading and gemstones. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Norman Hartnell |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Norman Hartnell was best known as one of the couturiers to the British royal family. From the late 1930s to the 1970s he designed a wide range of clothes that Queen Elizabeth, her daughters the Princesses Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret, and other members of the Royal Family wore for their official duties as well as in their personal lives. He opened his couture house in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London in 1923. This elegant wine-coloured crepe evening gown and peach jacket were designed for Queen Elizabeth and probably formed part of her personal wardrobe, rather than being intended for state occasions. She would have worn them to dinner or for evening engagements held away from the public eye. The neckline of the dress and the jacket are encrusted with beading, sequins and gemstones. Such elaborate embroidery was a Hartnell trademark, and there is a sample of the beading and fabric attached to the sketch. |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1943, London: HMSO, 1956. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.14-1943 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
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