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Collections

Paul Poiret
Woman's Dress1909-1910

Not on view
Full-length cream-colored sheer dress on a white mannequin, with dusty rose trim at the cuffs, waist, and tiered hem bands
White mannequin displaying a sheer cream muslin gown in Empire silhouette, with high waist, long sleeves, and full-length skirt; pink ribbon trim at waistband, cuffs, and hem ruffles, photographed against a dark background.
Close-up detail of a textile garment showing gathered cream net fabric with a horizontal band of red, green, and blue striped fabric insert, stitched at top and bottom edges with fine gathering.
Close-up detail of a textile garment showing layered open-weave lace in cream, with a gathered ruffle of multicolored red, blue, and cream striped knit fabric along the seam edge.
Close-up detail of a cream tulle dress, showing gathered bodice and skirt with two horizontal bands of pleated pink and red ribbon visible beneath the sheer overlay, and a gathered sleeve cuff with matching ribbon trim.
Designer
Paul Poiret
France, 1879-1944
Design House
Poiret
France, Paris, 1903 - 1929
Title
Woman's Dress
Place Made
France, Paris
Date Made
1909-1910
Medium
Silk net, silk plain weave, and silk twill
Dimensions
Center back length: 54 7/8 in. (139.38 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number
M.2007.211.945
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

Reminiscent of the radical change in silhouette that had occurred a century earlier, the twentieth century witnessed a transition from the hourglass to the cylinder. Typical of vanguard designer Paul Poiret’s revival of the Empire style, this columnar, gracefully flowing dress illustrates the diminished role of the corset. Its simplicity is belied by handworked channels of diaphanous fabric over strips of silk twill, which reflects the popularity of drawn-thread work and the gossamer lightness of lingerie.

Selected Bibliography
  • Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
  • Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
  • Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.

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