#7279 $1,250
Metallic brocade flapper evening dress, c.1925
The brilliant evening dress is a reminder of the high style glamour of the 1920s. The rich metallic brocade appealed to the flapper's appetite for luxe design. Gold, the face of opulence, was a favorite color in this glorious decade. The byword then was: if you've got, flaunt it, where "it" could be money, style, or beauty; preferably, all three.
The dress is fashioned from chartreuse green satin brocaded with bronzed gold. The lamé fabric has developed the fine, mellow patina only achieved by time. Here is the sumptuous, gilded look of the 1920s. The French poet Baudelaire put it perfectly in a line that puns on or, the French word for gold: "Il faut se dorer pour se faire adorer: You must be gilded to be adored."
The style features a long loose bodice, drop waist, and swagged skirt. The slip-style underbodice has matching lamé fabric at the neckline and underarms. The skirt swags are threaded through rhinestone-studded circular ornaments. The dress slips on without closures.
We know what the flapper looked like, but her personality was a bit more complex than the modern stereotype. She could afford to regard beauty as only skin deep, since she herself was admired for her beauty. However, she was not a "dumb blond." She had a quick wit and a good mind. There was also a measure of innocence about worldly affairs that would surprise us today.
The condition is almost excellent. The metallic fibers have darkened unevenly with age. I do not consider this a flaw but rather an aspect of the antique beauty.
It measures: 38" outer bodice bust, 35" under bodice bust (it was taken in and can be let out again), 34" drop waist, 38" hip, and 45" from shoulder to hem.
