Costume dress for Lady in Orange 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: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018
label: Subject of
content: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
notes: label: Description
content: Sleeveless dress costume for the character Lady in Orange 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 orange 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 orange fabric, 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 serged stitching in orange thread. The dress closes at the center back with a metal zipper, with two (2) 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 left waist with a large metal eye on the end, which closes with a large metal hook sewn to the interior proper right waist just inside the zipper. The bodice is lined with orange synthetic satin, while the skirt is not lined. There are six (6) male metal snaps, three at each armhole interior; 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: 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
label: Exhibition
content: Taking the Stage
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 054
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: 2007.3.37
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): 43 1/2 × 15 × 15 in. (110.5 × 38.1 × 38.1 cm)