Evening dress
The slightly structured strapless bodice is overlaid with a diagonal panel originating at the right side waist, which is draped loosely around the back to curve in a fan over the shoulder. The skirt is similarly unconventional. Many of James’s other draped effects are made from continuous panels, but this asymmetrical skirt has multiple parts, each seamed in a pronounced curve. The seams lightly buttress the final draping. The effect may appear spontaneous, but the construction reveals James’s deliberate intentions.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening dress
- Designer: Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978)
- Date: 1951
- Culture: American
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Gift of Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.246.7a
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Charles James
1951–53
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
Charles James
1940–1959
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