Dress

Textile designer Ruth Reeves began her training at American art schools between 1910 and 1915, followed by a period in France, where she studied under Fernand Léger at the Académie Moderne. Reeves was influenced by the style and subject matter of works by Léger and other contemporary French artists, however Reeves’s designs expressed a distinctly American sensibility, focused on themes reflecting the American experience. The lively motif of the Reeves-designed fabric used to make this dress, called “Play Boy,” attests to her ability to interpret modern American life and culture in textile patterns.

“Play Boy,” depicting silhouetted figures engaged in American sporting activities, was one of a series of designs created by Reeves for W. and J. Sloane and Company in 1930, as furnishing textiles for a modern country house. In 1931 and 1932, the textile appeared in a series of small promotional fashion shows organized by the Cotton-Textile Institute, which encouraged the use of furnishing fabrics for other purposes. This dress may have been created for a similar promotional use, or by a home dressmaker who appreciated the bold textile design. Its maker has used the textile pattern to great effect, creating a streamlined silhouette, uninterrupted by complex seaming that would disturb the clean lines and graphic impact of the print.