Black beaded dress designed by Zelda Wynn and worn by Ella Fitzgerald: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This black beaded full-length gown was designed by Zelda Wynn and worn by Ella Fitzgerald. The dress is made from black synthetic crepe fabric that is hand beaded with black glass seed and bugle beads, and black sequins in a floral vine design. The bodice is short-sleeved and has a scoop neck in the front and a V-neck in the back. There is a metal zipper in the center back that goes to the hip, and a hook-and-eye at the top of the zipper. The gown has a princess cut waist, but there is no seam at the waist. The gown has a column skirt with a slit on the proper right side that is 24 1/2" high and contains a rounded hem. At the top of the slit, there is a pre-tied black velvet bow that is sewn to the dress.

The dress is fully lined with a black synthetic fabric, except at the bottom of the sleeves. The hem of the sleeves, the interior neck line, and the skirt hem are finished with black ribbon. The designer label on the interior proper left back of the bodice is cream with black embroidered text and reads: "Zelda Wynn / NEW YORK, N.Y."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: late 1940s
• Designed by: Zelda Wynn, American, 1905 - 2001
• Worn by: Ella Fitzgerald, American, 1917 - 1996
• Type: gowns
• Medium: synthetic fiber, velvet, glass beads, plastic sequins, and metal fasteners
• Dimensions: H x W: 46 x 20 in. (116.8 x 50.8 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Fashion design
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2010.20.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Ella Fitzgerald
• 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.