Woman's Dress, 1967

There is no information as to who wore this dress designed by Geoffrey Beene.

Geoffrey Beene, born on August 30, 1927, was a native of Haynesville, Louisiana. He spent three years in medical school at Tulane University before moving to California to pursue his interest in fashion design. He attended New York’s Traphagen School of Design and moved to Paris to study French couture techniques. When he returned to New York in 1951, he worked for a number of fashion houses. In 1954, he was hired by Teal Traina, and he remained there until he left to open his own company, Geoffrey Beene, Inc. in 1963. Beene offered custom designs and high quality ready-to-wear clothing for the mass market and later perfumes and menswear. His clientele included first ladies, movie stars, and fashion conscious women. Over his long career, he received many fashion accolades, including eight prized Coty Awards.

A leader in American fashion design until his death on September 28, 2004, Geoffrey Beene was famous for his use of luxurious fabrics, fine workmanship, and originality. The quality of his work rivaled the best of the French fashion houses, while adding freedom of movement, comfort, and fit to his designs. He became known as an innovator in women’s sportswear. In 1967, he created this sequined football jersey dress, which was one of a series of dresses inspired by athletic jerseys. This particular dress brought active American sports clothing into the realm of evening wear. Several of his other designs, including the flag sweatshirt, are in the Smithsonian collections.

This one-piece evening dress is cut straight at the sides with a slight flare at the lower edge. The entire body of the dress is covered in vertical rows of overlapping dark purple sequins except for alternating horizontal bands of gold, white, and purple sequins on the upper sleeves and the number “74," 7 3/4 inches high, formed by vertical rows of white sequins at the upper front and back. The positioning and color of the sequins creates the effect of an elongated football jersey. The dress has long, straight set-in sleeves that taper at the ends with 3 ½ inch slit openings that fasten with three fabric covered snaps. A high round neckline drops lower in front, and a band effect is created around the neckline with a horizontal placement of five rows of purple sequins. A zipper opening at the center back extends 20 ½ inches, with a hook and eye closure at the neckline. The dress is fully lined with purple silk. A Geoffrey Beene fabric label with black ground and white lettering is sewn vertically to the inside lining left of the zipper opening at the upper back. The dress measures 57 ½ inches at the center back.

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