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Brown halter dress with gold music-themed embellishments designed by Peter Davy

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Designed by

    Peter Davy, Saint Vincentian, 1944 - 1990

    Subject of

    Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007

    Description

    A dark brown iridescent satin halter neck dress with gold sequin and beaded music-themed embellishments designed by Peter Davy. The bodice of the dress is made from a tube of gold sequin-covered fabric, with two wide strips of deep dark brown satin fabric sewn, one at each front side that reach up over the bust and fasten at the center back neck with two (2) self-fabric loops and two (2) round metal buttons. The gold sequin bodice has a shallow scoop in the back. Below the empire waistline is a full circle skirt with a back train made from the same deep brown satin as the halter neck bodice sections. Two (2) sets of three (3) rows of gold sequins spaced three (3) inches apart are sewn around the skirt, one around the thigh area and the other near the hemline. Several large-scale paillettes shaped as quarter and double-quarter music notes and treble clefs made from gold sequins and beads trimmed in black sequins are sewn over the rows of gold sequins, as if the rows are a music staff. The dress closes at the center back with a black metal and plastic zipper with one (1) black metal hook-and-eye at the top of the zipper.
    The bodice of the dress is not lined. The skirt has an attached petticoat made from black tulle. Black lace hanger loops are sewn at each interior side seam. There are no labels in the dress.

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane

    Date

    1985-1990

    Object number

    2007.3.87

    Restrictions & Rights

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

    Type

    dresses

    Medium

    satin, tulle, sequins, and beads, with metal and plastic fasteners

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (flat): 72 × 97 × 5 1/8 in. (182.9 × 246.4 × 13 cm)
    H x W x D (on form): 59 × 45 × 47 in. (149.9 × 114.3 × 119.4 cm)

    Place made

    New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Collection title

    Black Fashion Museum 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

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd562bdb382-27a3-4344-a1d9-e8e6a9cbcc79

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2007.3.87

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