Dress #118: Charles James ballgown in pale blue and blue-green Skulls though it looks quite peculiar

though it looks quite peculiar when one is not on the horse

the dress was featured in the February 1929 issue of ‘Les Modes : revue mensuelle illustrée des Arts décoratifs appliqués à la femme’

which translates as ‘Monstrous seahorse’

accented with silver paper and an acrylic rhinestone

The faint shimmer of handmade purple Japanese papers evokes the silk crepe of the underdress and silk velvet of the tabard

Dress #118: Charles James ballgown in pale blue and blue-green Skulls though it looks quite peculiarThis hand stitched paper dress is based on a ballgown created by Charles James between 1950 1952; the original is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession C. I. 65. 36. 1). For this ballgown, James took inspiration from the late nineteenth century with swags of pale blue silk satin gathered at the front and back over a blue green silk taffeta underskirt, forming a miniature bustle. Charles James is considered by the Met to be the only