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Elsa Schiaparelli

summer 1940 · cotton, wool · Costume Institute

One of the last collections Schiaparelli designed before forced out of Paris by World War II, the summer 1940 collection accentuated the traits of femininity and youth. This design from that collection encapsulates both with a dose of playfulness. The short bolero jacket hits the torso at a flattering place, subtly emphasizing the bust of the wearer. The skirt, whose lightweight fabrication and tight pleating references eighteenth and nineteenth-century petticoats, is effortlessly perfect for a summer holiday. The choice of red and white striped cotton for the bolero and hat is reminiscent of striped beach cabanas. Millicent Rogers, the original owner of this ensemble and a world traveler, could have worn this while summering at one of her many homes, perhaps her Jamaican estate "Wharf House" or one of the two Rogers family homes on Long Island.

Artist

Elsa Schiaparelli

Date

summer 1940

Medium

cotton, wool

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