Dress

Mainbocher|Mainbocher

ca. 1935 · silk, cotton · Costume Institute

Millicent Rogers, the original owner of this ensemble, was a woman of great personal style. She often worked closely with designers to infuse her own sartorial aesthetic into her clothes, including touches authentic to her most current surroundings. In the 1930s, Rogers lived in St. Anton in the Arlberg Valley of the Austrian Tyrolean Alps. She was intrigued by the region's native dress, and that interest filtered into her clothing. This design is an example of that Tyrolean influence, created by Mainbocher when he was working in Paris before World War II. The lace-front bodice worn with a floral-pattern skirt is typical of Austrian folk dress. The couture additions of high quality fabrics and the quirky hood indicate Rogers' close working relationship with designers such as Mainbocher to incorporate personal elements and also her own fascinating style personality.

Artist

Mainbocher|Mainbocher

Date

ca. 1935

Medium

silk, cotton

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos, 1954