#6991 $1,200 Reserved
Beaded silk dress, early 1920s
The spectacular high style beading design allows a bit of latitude with regard to my strictures on condition. Ideally, both the design and the condition would be of the highest quality. Unfortunately, and contrary to Dr. Pangloss' belief that we live "in the best of all possible worlds," we rarely have it all. I will generally choose great design when I find it in a very good dress over boring design in a dress in excellent condition.
Made from peach silk crepe, the simple straight sheath closes in back with snaps under the dramatic open sided panel. The back under the panel is not beaded. The Persian-style beading decoration combines faux pearls, rhinestones, and silver-lined crystal beads in a lavish floral display. The accents of orange beads on the shoulder straps are pure inspiration.
The masterful Deco design (6th picture down) plays variations on the theme of feminine, curvilinear forms: circle, ellipse, oval, parabola. Masculine hard edges are absent. The Deco emphasis on geometric forms is here, but this is not the streamlined modernism of the late 1920s. Rhinestones and crystal beads are used for softly rounded daisies, oval teardrops, and "pearl" flowers—all bounded by a dark, beaded, symmetrical "curved trapezoid" (to coin a term).
Our resplendent dress is the sort of stunning fashionable attire worn by Millicent Rogers, the Standard Oil heiress. She had a face like a lotus flower and the figure of a Chinese statuette. In her anarchic youth during the Twenties, she made an indelible impression on high society.
The condition is very good to excellent. The structurally sound dress has several stains. Some of the rhinestone centers of the large beads are missing. This is reflected in the price. I have sold dresses of this design quality for $2200-$2400. If you have access to an archival cleaner, you may be able to have the stains removed. I have not tried to clean the dress because an ordinary cleaner might destroy it.
It measures: 37" bust and waist, 40" hip, and 49" from shoulder to hem.
