Evening dress

Elizabeth Hawes created simple, witty, distinctive, elegant and practical garments for women of means. Her designs were so smart and timeless that they were as contemporary in the early 1930s as they were in the late 1940s due to her commitment to quality of materials and simplicity of line. She was committed to the notion that form follows function and paramount in her design sensibilities was the desire to make clothes that were stylish, easy to move in, and by incorporating breathable fabrics, easy to wear. Hawes focused on construction and comfort, rather than embellishment, and incorporated a variety of interesting fabric combinations and construction techniques, successfully using somewhat complex textural juxtapositions to create visual interest. Aspiring to follow in similar design techniques as Madeleine Vionnet, Hawes draped fabrics on the body and creatively pieced together wearable garments that were also beautiful works of art. Hawes’ philosophy toward fashion also shaped her aesthetic. She firmly believed there was a difference between fashion and style. Style, she declared, “is dressing to fit your own self – it lasts.” Hawes Inc. scrapbooks and designer sketchbooks, complete with style documentation and swatches, are part of the Brooklyn Museum Library’s collection. The latter are cross-referenced with many of Hawes’ garments. Taken as a whole, this material provides a remarkably comprehensive look at the work of an exceptional designer.

The delicate and artful manner in which the fabrics are pieced together to create this lively evening dress is signature Hawes. The top portion of the bodice is aqua chiffon, and is pieced together with a sweetheart neck bodice and full skirt of coordinating aqua faille and aqua, cream and purple plaid taffeta. The way in which the pattern in the plaid is oriented diagonally is mimicked by the taffeta pieced in V-shaped sections. The weaves and patterns of the fabrics are perfectly matched, a skill Hawes employed often in her garments. The color combination is unexpected and exciting, causing this dress to command attention to the wearer.