#4008 $1,800
French hand-embroidered tea dress, early 1920s
This winsome hand-embroidered tea dress from a Paris fashion house personifies the graceful elegance of the early 1920s. Strong lights and darks in a graphic composition never go out of style. The dress combines simplicity of design with perfection of finish. The accomplished hand-embroidery bespeaks the best of fine fashion.
The dress is fashioned from sheer cotton voile that has mellowed to a beautiful shade of pale beige. The mint-green taffeta medallions are a delightful contrast. They are surrounded with raised floral embroidery of padded satin stitch. The hem of the dress is bordered with matching tape lace assembled with handmade fancy fill.
The dress slips over the head with no closures. The easy-to-wear style flatters a variety of figures. I love the way the skirt dips to a longer length in back.
The intrinsic stylishness of our dress makes it as wearable today as when first worn to a fashionable Parisian garden party 80 years ago. Indeed, clothes have a life of their own, independent of their shape or color. A dress can give a reassuring sense of continuity over the decades.
The label reads "Vidalou"—see the bottom picture.
The condition is almost excellent. The dress has a few small stains that are barely visible. Since they do not spoil the appearance, I do not recommend spot cleaning. This could make them more obvious by turning them lighter than the rest of the dress.
It measures: 37" bust, 36" drop waist, full skirt, 21" from the shoulder to the drop waist, and 44" from the shoulder to the front hem (longer in back).
