Costume dress for Lady in Purple from for colored girls... on Broadway
date: label: Date
content: 1976-1978
name: label: Designed by
content: Judy Dearing, American, 1940 - 1995
label: Worn by
content: Risë Collins
label: Subject of
content: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
label: Subject of
content: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018
notes: label: Description
content: Sleeveless dress costume for the character Lady in Purple from the original Broadway production of Ntozake Shange's choreopoem "for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf." The dress is made from purple satin synthetic fabric with the crepe finished wrong side facing. The bodice has a sweetheart neckline, scooped back, and front shaping with princess darts, ending at the natural waistline. The neckline and armholes are edged with the purple satin, with the shiny satin side facing. There is a length of self-fabric piping around the waist, again with the shiny satin side facing. The full circle skirt falls at the knee and is hemmed with a chain stitch in purple thread that is covered with serged stitching in pink thread. The dress closes at the center back with a metal zipper, with two (2) small metal hook-and-eye fasteners, one at the top of the back and the second at the waist. There is a length of cream grosgrain ribbon sewn to the interior proper right and left back waist with a single metal hook-and-eye closure on the ends of the ribbon. The bodice is lined with purple synthetic satin, while the skirt is not lined. There are two (2) male metal snaps, one at each front armhole interior, sewn over the seam of the bust dart; there is no evidence of the corresponding female sides of these snaps.
place: label: Place used
content: New York City, Manhattan County, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Broadway Theatre
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Costume
label: Topic
content: Costume design
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Poetry
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Black Fashion Museum Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Costume
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2007.3.36
objectType: label: Type
content: dresses
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: synthetic satin and crepe with metal closures
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (On form): 40 3/4 × 17 × 14 1/2 in. (103.5 × 43.2 × 36.8 cm)