Evening ensemble

Elsa Schiaparelli

1937–39 · (a,b) cotton, silk, metallic thread (c,d) plastic, glass · Costume Institute

In Paris during the mid- to late-1930s, the major sites of fashionability were the theatre, restaurant and nightclub. The dinner suit, usually consisting of a dress or skirt with a jacket, became extremely popular for its non-specificity. Its wearer could go to Fouquet's for cocktails, Maxim's for dinner, and the Ambassadeurs for dancing without the necessity of changing clothes. Elsa Schiaparelli is credited with having invented the dinner suit in the early 1930s.

Artist

Elsa Schiaparelli

Date

1937–39

Medium

(a,b) cotton, silk, metallic thread (c,d) plastic, glass

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Julia B. Henry, 1978