Evening Dress

This gown was worn by Mrs. Adelaide Frick at her daughter, Helen Clay Frick’s, 1908 debut party, which was held at Clayton. During the Gilded Age, a woman’s mode of dress reflected her role in society. For the social debut, a mother brought to the fore her daughter, often dressed in white, while the mother dressed in a manner both dignified and beautiful. This dress is one of several evening costumes in the collection purchased by Adelaide Frick through Lichtenstein and Company, a firm with retail outlets in Paris and New York.