Evening dress
Worn by the famous burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee, this slinky Schiaparelli design emphasizes the curves of the female form. The slight mermaid silhouette, aided by the tight fit and flared train, is a Schiaparelli hallmark and caused the wearer to walk daintily along. Lee would have been an expert as such coquettish behavior. Charles James also designed a dress named "La Sirène" for Lee in 1939. Similar in design to this Schiaparelli dress, it is obvious that Lee liked the silhouette and the feminine draping along the sides of the body, and it is possible that Schiaparelli’s design inspired the James design. The James dress has been likened to a lobster, which is interesting in the case of this Schiaparelli design, as the lobster is a Surrealist form, often seen in Salvador Dalí’s work, in particular in the famous lobster dress from Schiaparelli's summer 1937 collection.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening dress
- Design House: Schiaparelli (French, founded 1927)
- Designer: Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
- Date: 1938–39
- Culture: French
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Erik Lee Preminger in memory of his mother, Gypsy Rose Lee, 1993
- Object Number: 2009.300.1386
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli
fall/winter 1937–38
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Elsa Schiaparelli
summer 1940
Schiaparelli
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1936–37
Schiaparelli
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