Woman's Gold Openwork/Net Shift or Dress
Subject
Clothing and Dress
Title
Woman's Gold Openwork/Net Shift or Dress
Date
ca. 1960-1970
Format
There are two sleeves measuring 6 ¾ inches (17 cm) in length, and the front and back are combined into one piece. The dress measures 35 ½ inches (90.1 cm) from shoulder to hem, 14 inches (35.5 cm) from shoulder to shoulder, and 20 ¼ inches (51.4 cm) along the hem.
Description
The dress is a gold openwork or net constructed shift. It is made in 3 pieces. There is a center back closure consisting of six 3/8-inch (1 cm) buttons that are fastened by loops. Two of the six buttons show the original gold color while the other four have tarnished. Each piece seems to have been made separately by forming the loops and crossed sections in gold yarn, then sewing them together with a yellow-gold thread. The yarn itself is wrapped in gold metallic strips, which when viewed under a microscope appear dark, suggesting the yarn was produced using the foil type method of sandwiching a layer of metal, usually aluminum foil, between two layers of plastic film. The film could be colored before lamination, and common colors included gold, copper, and silver (Hollen & Sadler 1968). The dress, meant to be worn with an under slip, was originally paired with a silk coffee-colored one. There is no label in the dress, as it would be visible with the openwork construction.
Fashion in the sixties shifted away from the status quo and designers began to push the boundaries of what could be wearable. Perhaps the designer who best exemplified this zeitgeist was Paco Rabanne, a Spanish designer who experimented with plastic, paper, chainmail, and other unusual materials to create dresses and jewelry (Seeling 1999). He was one of the designers influenced by the space race, which encouraged the development of clothing for space exploration using materials such as aluminum and other metals, nylon, and fiberglass. He is famous for his dresses made of Rhodoid plastic discs and metal. His influence can be seen in the use of gold and openwork construction. In a 1966 issue of Women’s Wear Daily, Rabanne predicted that “skin-tight fashions will be transparent or in open work, very phosphorescent or metallic” (Les Fauvres, 1966).
This dress is also unusual for its time, since similar examples are not found in contemporary advertisements and fashion spreads. This could suggest that the piece was unconventional and, similar to plastic and chainmail dresses, was a niche look only worn by a select minority. It is also possible that this was a custom-made dress. The overall feeling of the dress is one of glamor. It is a piece of clothing meant to be seen, and it gives a sense of youthfulness and adventure. Vogue advertisements showed gold braid being worn for evening wear, but only as trimming. The association of gold braid with evening suggests this dress would be worn at night, but the use of it to make fabric lends itself to the idea that this was a party dress.
Fashion in the sixties shifted away from the status quo and designers began to push the boundaries of what could be wearable. Perhaps the designer who best exemplified this zeitgeist was Paco Rabanne, a Spanish designer who experimented with plastic, paper, chainmail, and other unusual materials to create dresses and jewelry (Seeling 1999). He was one of the designers influenced by the space race, which encouraged the development of clothing for space exploration using materials such as aluminum and other metals, nylon, and fiberglass. He is famous for his dresses made of Rhodoid plastic discs and metal. His influence can be seen in the use of gold and openwork construction. In a 1966 issue of Women’s Wear Daily, Rabanne predicted that “skin-tight fashions will be transparent or in open work, very phosphorescent or metallic” (Les Fauvres, 1966).
This dress is also unusual for its time, since similar examples are not found in contemporary advertisements and fashion spreads. This could suggest that the piece was unconventional and, similar to plastic and chainmail dresses, was a niche look only worn by a select minority. It is also possible that this was a custom-made dress. The overall feeling of the dress is one of glamor. It is a piece of clothing meant to be seen, and it gives a sense of youthfulness and adventure. Vogue advertisements showed gold braid being worn for evening wear, but only as trimming. The association of gold braid with evening suggests this dress would be worn at night, but the use of it to make fabric lends itself to the idea that this was a party dress.
Source
Donor: Isabelle Weinstein
Identifier
URI 1987.10.05
Contributor
Zhanique Waite
Collection
Citation
“Woman's Gold Openwork/Net Shift or Dress,” Historic Textile and Costume Collection, accessed April 27, 2024, https://uritextilecollection.omeka.net/items/show/452.