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Black beaded dress designed by Zelda Wynn and worn by Ella Fitzgerald

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Designed by

    Zelda Wynn, American, 1905 - 2001

    Worn by

    Ella Fitzgerald, American, 1917 - 1996

    Description

    This black beaded full-length gown was designed by Zelda Wynn and worn by Ella Fitzgerald. The dress is made from black synthetic crepe fabric that is hand beaded with black glass seed and bugle beads, and black sequins in a floral vine design. The bodice is short-sleeved and has a scoop neck in the front and a V-neck in the back. There is a metal zipper in the center back that goes to the hip, and a hook-and-eye at the top of the zipper. The gown has a princess cut waist, but there is no seam at the waist. The gown has a column skirt with a slit on the proper right side that is 24 1/2" high and contains a rounded hem. At the top of the slit, there is a pre-tied black velvet bow that is sewn to the dress.
    The dress is fully lined with a black synthetic fabric, except at the bottom of the sleeves. The hem of the sleeves, the interior neck line, and the skirt hem are finished with black ribbon. The designer label on the interior proper left back of the bodice is cream with black embroidered text and reads: "Zelda Wynn / NEW YORK, N.Y."

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Ella Fitzgerald

    Date

    late 1940s

    Object number

    2010.20.1

    Restrictions & Rights

    No Known Copyright Restrictions
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    gowns

    Medium

    synthetic fiber, velvet, glass beads, plastic sequins, and metal fasteners

    Dimensions

    H x W: 46 x 20 in. (116.8 x 50.8 cm)

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Clothing - Fashion and Historical

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Clothing and dress
    Design
    Fashion
    Fashion design
    Jazz (Music)
    Singers (Musicians)

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5f7c43cfa-830c-466b-8655-9a88ab9bbb42

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2010.20.1

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