A Red Floral Silk Chiffon Dress from the Black Fashion Museum, About 1960

The dress, from the museum's record of the object. Image from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

This full-length sheath dress is printed with red, white, pink and grey flowers on silk chiffon. Over the print, meandering curved lines and circles are machine embroidered in synthetic thread. It dates to about 1960 and its maker is unidentified. It came to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture as a gift from the Black Fashion Museum (1979 - 2007), founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane.

How it is made

• Neckline and sleeves. A draped boatneck collar, and bishop sleeves set in with elastic at the cuffs.
• Shaping. Three darts on each side of the front bodice start at the waistline, with gathering in the skirt panel underneath. The back bodice has two darts on each side, again with gathering below.
• Skirt. The front panel has a center seam set off to the wearer's left. The seam is left unstitched from eighteen and a half inches below the waistline down to the hem, which makes a slit.
• Closures. Four faceted plastic buttons with four fabric loops fasten the back of the collar, and a plastic zipper with a metal pull runs down the center back seam under it.
• Lining. Light pink silk, with the hem whip stitched in pink thread. A pink synthetic knit is sewn between the chiffon and the lining. Small hanger loops of chain-stitched thread are tacked at the shoulders.

Another photograph of the dress from the museum's record. Image from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The object record

Sources

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Red floral dress with bishop sleeves, object 2007.3.381, released under CC0 through Smithsonian Open Access; rewritten in hubnx's own words.