Drawing of the Day: Dinner Dress Ensemble; Field Rhoades Haute Couture, 1948-49

Design for a dinner ensemble.
Marjorie Field for Field Rhoades Couture
London, 1948-1949
The Victoria & Albert Museum 

Dating to 1948-49, this drawing is a fashion design for a black dinner dress ensemble consisting of a black sheath under a cerulean and peach bolero jacket, trimmed with black bobble passementerie.

The gown was designed by Marjorie Field for the haute couture firm Field Rhoades of London.  A type-written description of the ensemble is included with the drawing in order to specify the materials required.  Field intended that the gown should be made of crepe while the jacket would be constructed of slipper satin. 

This drawing is one of twelve in an album which Field assembled between 1948 and 1949 to present to her partners at Field Rhoades—allowing the firm to select the designs, colors and materials which they desired for the couture collection. 

Drawing of the Day: Dinner Dress Ensemble; Field Rhoades Haute Couture, 1948-49

Design for a dinner ensemble.
Marjorie Field for Field Rhoades Couture
London, 1948-1949
The Victoria & Albert Museum 

Dating to 1948-49, this drawing is a fashion design for a black dinner dress ensemble consisting of a black sheath under a cerulean and peach bolero jacket, trimmed with black bobble passementerie.

The gown was designed by Marjorie Field for the haute couture firm Field Rhoades of London.  A type-written description of the ensemble is included with the drawing in order to specify the materials required.  Field intended that the gown should be made of crepe while the jacket would be constructed of slipper satin. 

This drawing is one of twelve in an album which Field assembled between 1948 and 1949 to present to her partners at Field Rhoades—allowing the firm to select the designs, colors and materials which they desired for the couture collection. 

History's Runway: The Amies Crimson Evening Dress, 1950

Evening Gown
Edwin Hardy Amies
Designed, 1950
Made, 1954
The Victoria & Albert Museum

No Society lady of the 1950s would have been without a wardrobe of sumptuous evening gowns. Draped in these gowns and dripping with jewels, a lady made a statement as she entered a ball or visited the theatre or opera.

Here’s an ideal representation of the evening gowns of the fifties. Designed in 1950 by the London couturier Edwin Hardy Amies (1909–2003), this elegant gown is crafted of crimson silk satin. The shape of the dress is created by a lining of Vilene, a thick material with a paper-like quality. This was quite an innovation, replacing the layers of tulle and silk net petticoats which were traditionally used by French couturiers. Vilene had served Europe well during the fabric rationing of the Second World War, creating volume beneath more expensive materials, without exceeding an individual’s rationed amount of fabric. The sleeveless gown is heavily boned and wired at the bodice with a band of satin at the top. The shoulders are defined by draped straps from the front of the bodice to the back, terminating in a large bow. Two bows on each of the gathered skirt accentuate the hips.

This dress was made for Mrs. Jean Follett Holt in 1954 based on Amies 1950 design. Mrs. Follett Holt is notable as having been the President of The Red Cross, Chelmsford. She wore the dress to The Red Cross Ball in London and was painted wearing the dress in a portrait by Baron Killi di Pauli.

Drawing of the Day: Dinner Dress Ensemble; Field Rhoades Haute Couture, 1948-49

Design for a dinner ensemble.
Marjorie Field for Field Rhoades Couture
London, 1948-1949
The Victoria & Albert Museum 

Dating to 1948-49, this drawing is a fashion design for a black dinner dress ensemble consisting of a black sheath under a cerulean and peach bolero jacket, trimmed with black bobble passementerie.

The gown was designed by Marjorie Field for the haute couture firm Field Rhoades of London.  A type-written description of the ensemble is included with the drawing in order to specify the materials required.  Field intended that the gown should be made of crepe while the jacket would be constructed of slipper satin. 

This drawing is one of twelve in an album which Field assembled between 1948 and 1949 to present to her partners at Field Rhoades—allowing the firm to select the designs, colors and materials which they desired for the couture collection.