Evening dress
"Mrs. Harrison Williams was a chef d'oeuvre, breathing a rarefied air of mystery, like some undine or goddess from another world who yet chooses to dress in the height of fashionable conventionality."
Cecil Beaton
In December 1933, Chanel, Lanvin, Lelong, Vionnet, Balenciaga, Molyneux and Mainbocher named Mrs. Harrison Williams the "Best Dressed-Woman in the World." Like Lady Mendl and the Duchess of Windsor, she possessed an inconspicuous elegance, which she achieved by choosing the clean and subdued lines of Vionnet and Balanciaga. Vogue observed, "She never orders the 'successes' in a collection, but instead, the costume which is noticeable only on second glance."
Mrs. Harrison Williams' style and beauty have been immortalized in art, music and literature. In "Ridin' High" Cole Porter sang "What do I care if Mrs. Harrison Williams is the best dressed woman in town." In Truman Capote's Answered Prayers, she was the model for the character Kate McCloud.
Cecil Beaton
In December 1933, Chanel, Lanvin, Lelong, Vionnet, Balenciaga, Molyneux and Mainbocher named Mrs. Harrison Williams the "Best Dressed-Woman in the World." Like Lady Mendl and the Duchess of Windsor, she possessed an inconspicuous elegance, which she achieved by choosing the clean and subdued lines of Vionnet and Balanciaga. Vogue observed, "She never orders the 'successes' in a collection, but instead, the costume which is noticeable only on second glance."
Mrs. Harrison Williams' style and beauty have been immortalized in art, music and literature. In "Ridin' High" Cole Porter sang "What do I care if Mrs. Harrison Williams is the best dressed woman in town." In Truman Capote's Answered Prayers, she was the model for the character Kate McCloud.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening dress
- Design House: House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
- Designer: Madeleine Vionnet (French, Chilleurs-aux-Bois 1876–1975 Paris)
- Date: fall/winter 1938–39
- Culture: French
- Medium: metal thread
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Harrison Williams, Lady Mendl, and Mrs. Ector Munn, 1946
- Object Number: C.I.46.4.25a, b
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
1924
House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
ca. 1936
House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
fall/winter 1929–30
House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
early 1930s
House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
ca. 1931
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