Dress

Cotton tulle dress with chenille tufts and velvet bow. Label: "Costura Asunción Bastida Barcelona Madrid".

Asunción Bastida, a designer with branches in Barcelona and Madrid, but also internationally known, was one of the principal exponents of Catalonian haute couture and a member of the Cooperativa d’Alta Costura de Barcelona from its first beginnings.

The dress shown here presents all the formal characteristics of the time, introduced by the New Look proposed by Christian Dior: wide hips, very narrow waist and prominent bust, all due once again to interior structures such as a sash at the waist and a longline bra. This cocktail dress, worn at daytime parties, also reflects the signature features of Bastida's work, with its simple silhouette and absence of ornamentation other than a velvet bow at the neckline. Dark tones are also characteristic of Bastida's designs, especially black, as here.

The full flare of the skirt is achieved by superimposing two flounced skirts, one shorter than the other, of tulle dotted with tufts of chenille, also black. The plunge neckline could be covered with tulle or lace and extended into sleeves, as we known from sketches of this model, from a time when garments were custom-made on the basis of a model, but often personalized for the individual client, who would choose the details.