#6485 $450
Mary McFadden georgette dress, c.2000
Mary McFadden's years of extensive world travel shaped her fashion vocabulary, which shows the influence of Egyptian, Greek, and Japanese cultures. While working at Vogue, she was encouraged by the editors to start her own design line.
She was picked up by Henri Bendel, who featured her batik coats and quilted fencing jackets. McFadden introduced her Collection label of better quality, casual dresses for younger women in 2001. The style is more relaxed than her ethnic-inspired designs of the 1980s. Our Japanese-style floral print hints at her enduring passion for historic textiles.
In McFadden's fashion, we can often see what is apparent in the lively floral print. It is joyous, fresh, and natural. This may derive not only from her costume art but also from life experience: as a young girl, she lived on a cotton plantation in Tennessee.
The easy-to-care-for dress is fashioned from polyester georgette and is lined with polyester taffeta. I love the bias-cut faux sleeves. The dress slips over the head with no closures. What could be more fresh and youthful than red and white, especially in the dreary wintertime?
The condition is excellent. It looks like it was never worn.
The size is marked 14. It measures: 42" bust, 40" waist, 44" hip, 16" from shoulder seam to shoulder seam, and 54" from the shoulder to the hem.
