#4011 $1,400
Satin/lace trained evening dress, c.1918-1920
This exceptional charmeuse dress with its small back train would be perfect as an informal wedding dress. The relaxed fit and the draped style, avant-garde at the time, seem timeless today. A modern woman will be perfectly comfortable in this elegant dress.
The dress is fashioned from lightweight ecru silk charmeuse. The bodice is embellished with panels of matching tamboured net lace bordered with handmade silk Maltese lace. The sleeves are also bordered with Maltese lace. The only other embellishment is the large self flower on one side of the artfully draped skirt.
The dress closes across the shoulder and on one side with snaps. It has a partially attached under bodice of matching China silk that closes in front with snaps.
The diamond shaped panels on the front and back have a rich complexity that raises decoration to the level of art. Particularly noteworthy on the front panel is the tension between the circular central motif (so feminine and alluring) and the enclosing threefold rhombus-shaped motifs.
The condition is almost excellent. The dress has a few pale water mark stains. I do not view them as a problem, because they are virtually invisible.
It measures: 38" bust and waist, 40+" hip, and 52" from the shoulder to the front hem (longer in back).
