Dress
Designer Claire McCardell American
Manufacturer Townley Frocks American
Not on view
McCardell's classic day-to-evening dress is a synthesis of the unassuming drawstring peasant blouse and the chic Empire silhouette achieved through spaghetti-string tying at the waist and collar. Is she Esmeralda or Madame Récamier? In fact, she is both vernacular and commonplace and extraordinary. Moreover, if the dress resembles the columnar drapery of ancient or Romanesque sculpture, it is also the exemplar of ready-to-wear adaptability, compliant to a variety of different body types.
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