Pink organza cocktail dress
date: label: Date
content: 1950s
name: label: Designed by
content: Ysabel Matthews, American
label: Subject of
content: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
notes: label: Description
content: A pink silk organza cocktail dress with a wide neckline and painted cotton applique flowers. The bust is made from three panel pieces - one center piece, and a smaller panel for each side that are sewn together with a princess seam. The garment is sleeveless, and the bust panels create the two armholes. Decorative black cotton applique flowers are sewn to the bodice around the neckline and down the center front and sides of the bodice. The flowers are painted with gold, pink, purple, green, metallic gold, and white acrylic paint. A black velvet ribbon is wrapped around the waistline and ends at the center front of the dress in a bow. It is handstitched to the dress at two- to three-inch intervals. One panel of fabric creates the front of the skirt with two darts at the upper waistline, which mirrored the two darts at the bottom of the bust. Two black cotton applique leaves are stitched to the dress – one on each side of the waist. The skirt hem is upturned, and the skirt lining and the outer fabric are machine stitched together creating a blind hem.
label: Description
content: The back of the dress features a scooped neckline. There are four back panels of pink silk organza fabric that are sewn together with a princess seam – two for the center back and two side panels that create the arm holes. A 14” metal Talon zipper with metal teeth is machine stitched to place between the two center back panels of the silk fabric. The back of the skirt is composed of two panels of fabric that are seamed together at the center back and contains four darts near the waistline – two on each side. The interior dress features a built-in bustier constructed from light pink polyester fabric. The bustier is made from 12 panels of fabric, machine stitched together. It has two hanging loops attached at the shoulders is tacked to the dress using hand stitches at the top, bottom, and the sides. A white fabric label sewn to the interior proper right side of the bust reads [YSABEL//NEW YORK//PHILADELPHIA] in grey letters. The interior skirt is lined with three panels of light pink polyester lining – two panels at the back and one in the front.
label: Cataloging Notes
content: This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Fashion
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 - Fashion and Historical
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: 2007.3.203
objectType: label: Type
content: dresses
label: Type
content: cocktail 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: silk organza, cotton, polyester lining, buckram, velvet, acrylic paint, and metal
label: Dimensions
content: Length: (Shoulder to hem) 40 1/4 in. (102.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Width: (Shoulder to Shoulder) 14 in. (35.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Waist: 12 in. (30.5 cm)