LACMA

ShopMembershipMyLACMATickets
LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
info@lacma.org
(323) 857-6000
Sign up to receive emails
Subscribe
© Museum Associates 2026
  • About LACMA
  • Jobs
  • Building LACMA
  • Host An Event
  • Unframed
  • Press
  • FAQs
  • Log in to MyLACMA
  • Privacy Policy
© Museum Associates 2026
Collections

DeDe Johnson
Woman's Coordinates (Blouse, Skirt, and Shorts)late 1950s

Not on view
Canary yellow mid-length sleeveless dress on a dress form, printed with charcoal gray line-drawn domestic scenes and full pleated skirt
Yellow cotton dress with cap sleeves, scoop neckline, and full pleated skirt, printed with repeating dark line-drawn motifs of figures and furnishings on a white floral ground, with small white buttons at center front bodice.

DeDe Johnson, DeDe Johnson, Inc., Woman's Coordinates (Blouse, Skirt, and Shorts), late 1950s, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Esther Ginsberg and James Morris in memory of Don Morris, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
DeDe Johnson
United States, Missouri, active United States, California, Los Angeles, born circa 1902
Design House
DeDe Johnson, Inc.
United States, California, Los Angeles, founded 1943
Title
Woman's Coordinates (Blouse, Skirt, and Shorts)
Place Made
United States, California
Date Made
late 1950s
Medium
Cotton plain weave, printed
Dimensions
Center back length (Blouse): 15 7/8 in. (40.32 cm) Center back length (Skirt): 31 1/4 in. (79.38 cm) Center back length (Shorts): 17 in. (43.18 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Esther Ginsberg and James Morris in memory of Don Morris
Accession Number
AC1998.40.1.1-.3
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

One of California’s most influential contributions to American fashion was the bathing suit ensemble—consisting of any combination of bathing suit, skirt, shorts, pants, and top of the same fabric to mix and match to fit the occasion. Colorful prints reflected California’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle; DeDe Johnson’s skirt, shorts, and top feature picnic tables and barbecue grills.



(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)

Selected Bibliography

  • Barron, Stephanie, S. Bernstein and I. S. Fort, with essays by Stephanie Barron, Sherri Bernstein, M. Dear, Howard N. Fox and Richard Rodriguez. Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Berkeley: University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000.

  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013.
Selected Exhibition History
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
Copyright
© The Warnaco Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Authentic Fitness Corp., Cole of California

Related Exhibitions