Teal waitress uniform worn by Halle Berry in the film Monster's Ball: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This teal waitress uniform dress (a) and name tag (b) were worn by Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove in the film Monster's Ball (2001). The fitted short-sleeved dress reaches below the knee and is made from dark teal polyester cotton blend fabric. It closes at the center front with six (6) round white plastic buttons. The front opening reaches from the neck to below the waist, not to the hem. The collar and decorative panels on the cuffs of the sleeves are made from white polyester and cotton blend fabric. There are two (2) inset pockets, one at each side hip sewn into the side seams. The dress is not lined. A white manufacturer's label with burgundy embroidered text reading "EXECUTIVE / APPAREL / MADE IN U.S.A." is sewn at the interior center back neck with the name "LETICIA" handwritten in the bottom right corner in black ink. Below the manufacturer's label is a white fabric label with black printed text detailing the size, fiber content, and care.

The name tag (b) is pinned to the dress on the proper left front just below the collar. It is a rectangular piece of black plastic with a cream plastic panel adhered to the front that has engraved lines reading "LETICIA". It fastens with a metal rolling safety clasp that is adhered to the center of the back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2001
• Manufactured by: Executive Apparel, American, founded 1934
• Worn by: Halle Berry, American, born 1966
• Type: dresses
• Type: uniform
• Medium: a: polyester and cotton blend cloth, plastic buttons;
• Medium: b: plastic and metal
• Dimensions: H x W: 44 x 20 1/2 in. (111.8 x 52.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2011.125ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.