Evening Dress and Hoop

Jeanne Lanvin headed one of the premier Paris couture houses of the 1910s and 1920s, even though her “pretty” dresses contrasted sharply with the slim, androgynous aesthetic of the period. Lanvin’s designs seemed to exist in a time of their own; although modern, they were never governed by the prevailing modes.

Throughout her career, Lanvin was firm in her belief that “women were meant to wear clothes of unabashed femininity.” Her work represented the survival of romantic clothing. During a period when fashion offered only a single silhouette, Lanvin always offered a feminine alternative. In the early 1920s, when skirts were slim, she championed the "robe de style," inspired by eighteenth-century fashions, which featured a full skirt supported by a knee-length oval hoop. This style became so closely associated with the House of Lanvin that it is still used on their label today.

Color was a primary concern of Lanvin’s, and she maintained her own dye works to achieve the clear, subtle, feminine colors that she favored. This dress of clear peach taffeta is one of her "robes de style" and features Lanvin’s favorite motif, the flower. This single embellishment, with blue streamers falling from its center, is echoed in the tiers of the skirt. When the donor and her sister made their debuts, they both wore this Lanvin design with the colors reversed.