Black lace and rust satin cocktail dress worn by Billie Holiday

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black lace and rust satin cocktail dress worn by Billie Holiday. The black lace is overlay covers the rust-colored satin completely. The satin portion of the dress has a strapless bodice that is fitted through the waist and flares out into a full skirt. It is sleeveless. The black lace overlay has an all-over floral pattern. The lace portion of the bodice has a slightly open front neck and high back neck with lace carefully cut along the floral design so that the neck opening is edged in flowers. The lace is also used for three-quarter length sleeves with a slightly gathered shoulder. The bottoms of the sleeves are also cut into the floral lace pattern to create a flower edging. The higher front neck and back and the sleeves are sheer, extending beyond the rust satin underlay.

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗