#7003 $1,800 Reserved
Deco bronze beaded tulle dress, c.1925
By the mid 1920s, fashion taste had moved away from the nostalgic images of Art Nouveau to more streamlined Art Deco styles. The term Art Deco comes from a 1925 art exposition held in Paris (Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs). The style was marked by bold colors, geometric motifs, curvilinear forms, and sharply defined outlines.
This quintessential Deco design uses oblong shapes and ellipses, combined with traditional stylized tree branches, in a dynamic pulsating design of great energy and flair. The design radiates out from a central geometric diamond.
The simple sheath style of the flapper dress was the ideal uncluttered canvas for elaborate beaded art. This dress has thigh-high slits on the sides and slips over the head with no closures. The coppery bronze color glows with warmth.
The brilliant design (3rd picture down) was meant for the woman who embodies the glitter and excitement, the romance and mystery, of the night. In his Notes on Paris (1867), Hippolyte Taine evoked her image:
She sets the fashion, lays down the law in dress; her manners are copied, and she is the talk of the town. She is felt to be superior, a queen among women; notwithstanding their apparent scorn, ladies admire her, ask questions about her, in the bottom of their hearts, envy her freedom and her license, and see in her a rival.
The condition is almost excellent. The dress, which can be worn, has been backed with matching tulle for support.
It measures: 36" bust and waist, 40" hip, and 45" from shoulder to hem.
