Dress
Date: c. 1928
Material: silk crepe de chine, glass beads
2022.06
Label: none
Tan silk dress with tromp l'oeil beaded bow and accompanying jacket and slip. Elsa Schiaparelli popularized tromp l'oeil styles in 1927 by creating fictionialized bows or accessories on knitted garments. Influenced by the surrealist art movement, with 'accessories' serving as optical illusions on the garments themselves.
Measurements:
Bust- 35 inches
Waist: 30 inches
Shoulder to shoulder: 15 inches
More Information: In 1927, Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli created a knit sport sweater decorated with a tromp l’oeil bow, attempting to fill a void in the market for a sweater that would complement her own figure. Her knit tromp l’oeil sweater launched her career, and many others copied her surrealist aesthetic. This particular dress utilizes beads and bright green silk to create a representational tromp l’oeil bow across the bodice. The added ruffles along the jacket and skirt illustrate the changing styles of the late 1920s toward a more feminine silhouette, forgoing the boxy androgynous look earlier in the decade.