Cocktail dress
Although the bodice of this dress has center front, center back, and side seams, its second-skin fit was accomplished by molding the bust à calage (steaming in the shape) and using back shoulder darts. The body of the dress has center front and center back seams. A long dart curves from under the arm over the front hipbone and into the low front cowl. With its high neckline, shoulder line extending into a cap sleeve, and sheathlike fit, this James design suggests the exotic influence of the Chinese qi pao, a style promoted at the time by another American couturier, Mainbocher, on his client Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor.
Artwork Details
- Title: Cocktail dress
- Designer: Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978)
- Date: ca. 1944
- Culture: American
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Polaire Weissman Fund, 1997
- Object Number: 1997.193.1
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Charles James
1933
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
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