dress, 3-piece
date: label: Date made
content: 1963
name: label: maker
content: Charlotte Villaret
notes: label: Description
content: Dress, 3-piece; black velvet; sleeveless; boat neckline in F; deep V-neckline in B; red velvet ribbon inserts behind B neckline edges, wider at bottom; CB opening; extends into skirt placket, over zipper; ribbon and placket fasten with hooks; eyes, either side of V bottom; long flared skirt; bias binding inside armholes; skirt bottom underside faced with black silk, above velvet turn-up; crepe panel with separate zipper attached to underside of B skirt, pulling sides of skirt together and causing CB to fall in loose folds; grosgrain inner waistband with hooks at CB; ornament of red velvet fastened to streamers of double velvet with hooks to fasten to eyes on dress B; hem-length; large pink silk roe with green silk cords with buds at ends and green silk cord loop; measures 58 3/4" (147.3 cm) down CB.
label: Description
content: Label text: Haute Couture / Charlotte Villaret / New York
label: Description
content: Dress was designed and made by donor's mother, Charlotte Villaret. Donor was being fitted to wear dress to John F. Kennedy's second Inaugural Ball when friend informed her that the President had been shot. Donor was a founding member of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
label: Description
content: Designer Charlotte Villaret worked for Valentina, Muriel King, and Charles James in late 1930s through 1950s; then was in business for herself in New York and San Antonio, Texas. According to donor, Villaret's clients included Elise A. Roosevelt, Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn, Grace Moore and Lily Pons. The Smithsonian accepted some Villaret garments from donor and the rest went to Marymount University's Costume and Textile collection.
label: Description
content: A short biography of Villaret written by donor includes personal anecdotes about her experience working for Muriel King and Charles James. See accession file for details.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Ginette V. Patch
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1994.0263.001
label: catalog number
content: 1994.0263.001
label: accession number
content: 1994.0263
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Dress, 3-piece