"Midsummer Madness"

Often remembered as Captain Molyneux, Edward Molyneux began his career with the English couturiere Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon, as a fashion sketcher and later assistant, traveling with her from London to New York and Chicago. Returning after WWI with blindness in one eye, Molyneux opened his own couture house in 1919 in Paris at 14 rue Royale. He opened several other branches, in both Monte Carlo and Cannes, and finally London. Molyneux had an artistic flair and obsession with the bourgeois. His clientele included the social elite as well as stars of the stage. Working in luxurious fabrics, he created exquisite pieces for both day and night, his colors of choice being navy, black and beige. His simplistic masterpieces were perfect for the woman who desired to look "absolutely" right.

This evening ensemble is an excellent example of the full-skirted silhouette of the late nineteen-thirties. Beneath the luxurious black velvet is a hoop petticoat. This two-piece ensemble of jacket and dress speak to the period of luxury and refinement which it represents. The name is also of interest, following the practice Lucile had of naming each of her designs; "Midsummer Madness" evokes thoughts of spontaneous adventure.