dress, 1-piece

This dress was worn by Mrs. George Meem to a White House function in Washington, D.C. in the early 1920s. It could have been either the Warren Harding or Calvin Coolidge administrations. Her husband was a local banker, and they were probably active in Washington society. As indicated by the label in the dress, she purchased the dress at Julius Garfinckel and Company, called “Garfinckel’s” by local residents.

The dress was worn with a pair of gold leather sandals which are also in the costume collections at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution.

This sleeveless evening dress is constructed from red creped georgette with a woven gold metallic geometric pattern. It has a round neck that is lower in the front than at the back. The edges of the neck and armholes are faced with light red georgette. The back of the dress has a hanging panel that extends from the neck to the waist and is gathered at the neck edge. The waist seam is dropped below the normal waistline, and there is a separate inset band around the hip area that is asymmetrical at the lower edge, curving up at the right side. The upper skirt section, with four rows of shirring, is attached to the bottom of inset band. The skirt section overlaps at the right side so that the panel hangs free. The lower portion of the skirt is constructed of metallic lace. Two rosettes of self-fabric and a hanging panel of gold metallic lace are attached at the right hip. An off-white georgette slip is sewn to the dress at the shoulders and the waistband seam and extends to the bottom of the georgette portion of the skirt section.

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