-->
  • Dress, 1925-1935

    Dress, 1925-1935

    This dress was owned by Virginia Palmer Bradfield Ward. A dramatic and slinky bias cut evening dress, both the styling and the coral color are typical of the mid 1930s. The interesting seaming and panel insets give much visual interest to what might seemingly be a plain dress.Virginia Palmer Bradfield was born 1897 in Grand Rapids, MI. She was born in to one of Michigan's oldest mining families.Her great grandfather, Charles Henry Palmer, was a pioneer investor and developer of mines and railroa…

  • Brick-Red Silk Dress, 1925-1926

    Brick-Red Silk Dress, 1925-1926

    Brick-red silk dress with all-over print of various-sized white dots with bits of blue. Collar and cuffs in off-white crepe with pleated edges. Down front of dress and above sleeve cuffs are diamond-shaped cut-outs with pleated crepe backing and self-fabric button/loop closures. Entire dress constructed of zigzag and diamond-shaped fabric pieces, alternately flat or pleated; exceptions are at sleeves and shoulder yoke. Dropped waistline with double self-fabric flounce, very finely pleated. Accom…

  • Dress with Underskirt, about 1927

    Dress with Underskirt, about 1927

    Patou was one of the most important designers of the early-mid 20th Century. He created fashions for slim, active, petite women like Elizabeth Parke Firestone. This is a cute, bouncy dress for a woman with a young family and many obligations.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Par…

  • Two-piece knit dress with tunic top from the 1920s

    Two-piece knit dress with tunic top from the 1920s

    This two-piece knit dress has a tunic top and plain skirt. There are nine buttons on each side of the tunic as well as machine embroidery in shades of orange and tan. Label: "MADE IN FRANCE, Mae & Hattie Green, 587, Fifth Avenue. NEW-YORK."

  • Sleeveless tennis dress from the mid '20s or early '30s

    Sleeveless tennis dress from the mid '20s or early '30s

    This woman's sleeveless tennis dress has a square neck and is made of a heavy, cream-color cotton fabric. It was made by Mrs. Robinson. The donors were daughters of tailor John C. Wettlaufer from whose shop the dress came.

  • Rayon crepe dress with an Art Deco fabric design from the 1920s

    Rayon crepe dress with an Art Deco fabric design from the 1920s

    Rayon crepe woman's dress having a colorful print with an Art Deco design of hexagons with floral centers, and Japanese cranes. The round neckline snaps closed part-way down the front, and there is a dark blue tie at the neck and waist. The dress does not have a label.

  • Beaded Lace Dinner Dress Shell, 1925

    Beaded Lace Dinner Dress Shell, 1925

    Dinner dress black lace shell decorated with black glass beads. Dress has flowing panels from the sleeves and a tunic effect in the front with an underskirt decorated with glass beads. This garment was owned by Matilda Dodge Wilson (October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967),who was the wife of John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920), co-founder of the Dodge Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan.

  • Satin Dinner Dress with Lace Overlay and Rhinestone Buckle, 1925

    Satin Dinner Dress with Lace Overlay and Rhinestone Buckle, 1925

    Black satin dinner dress overlayed with a fine black lace giving a tunic effect. The lace is short in the back and longer in the front. The front of the dress is accentuated with rhinestone and black clips and drapes of satin. This garment was owned by Matilda Dodge Wilson (October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967),who was the wife of John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920), co-founder of the Dodge Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan.