Beaded floral sheath dress worn by Dinah Washington: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This gold silk floral print sheath dress was worn by Dinah Washington. The dress has a natural waistline with no seam at the bodice. Pleats are sewn in the bodice and front waist to create a fitted silhouette. The gold silk satin is overlaid with cream silk chiffon that is printed in an allover design of mid-sized coral colored flowers. The printed flowers are outlined in gold bugle beads. At the scoop front neckline, V-neck back neckline, and over the shoulders the flowers are cut out so portions of them extend beyond the dress and are backed with the gold silk satin for stabilization. The dress closes at the center back with a cream plastic invisible zipper that extends from the back neckline to below the waist and one (1) hook-and-eye at the top of the zipper. There is a slit cut at the center back skirt approximately ten (10) inches long with an additional panel of silk overlaid in chiffon sewn behind the slit. The bodice and skirt are fully lined in an off-white synthetic faille.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940s
• Created by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Dinah Washington, American, 1924 - 1963
• Type: sheath dresses
• Medium: silk satin, silk chiffon, synthetic faille, glass beads, and plastic zipper
• Dimensions: H x W: 55 x 18 1/2 in. (139.7 x 47 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2011.87.5
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dinah Washington's Family
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.