Ivory Evening Dress with Floral Motif

15
Ivory Evening Dress with Floral Motif
#VC1999005

worn in 1937
silk, cotton, rhinestone trim, synthetic lining, metal
Gift of Mary Morton-Baca and Tom E. Morton (daughter and husband of Frankie Davis ’39)

Fashion in the 1930s was very different from the 1920s. Nowhere is this clearer than in evening wear, where, inspired by Hollywood, gowns became more feminine and romantic. This gown dates from 1937-1939, and was worn by Frankie Davis (Morton) '39. Frankie probably wore this dress to social events like Junior and Senior Prom and to dances at the men’s colleges to impress her classmates and male companions. As a visitor to a men’s school, Frankie would have been expected to embody the Vassar Girl: elegant, tasteful, forward-thinking and individualistic. Embellishments like a zipper (still new to women’s clothing) on the side seam and rhinestones on the bodice make the dress unique and fashion forward—traits admired in a Vassar woman. The dress was probably originally floor length but has been altered since Frankie originally wore it.