Black lace and rust satin cocktail dress worn by Billie Holiday: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black lace and rust satin cocktail dress worn by Billie Holiday. The black lace is overlay covers the rust-colored satin completely. The satin portion of the dress has a strapless bodice that is fitted through the waist and flares out into a full skirt. It is sleeveless. The black lace overlay has an all-over floral pattern. The lace portion of the bodice has a slightly open front neck and high back neck with lace carefully cut along the floral design so that the neck opening is edged in flowers. The lace is also used for three-quarter length sleeves with a slightly gathered shoulder. The bottoms of the sleeves are also cut into the floral lace pattern to create a flower edging. The higher front neck and back and the sleeves are sheer, extending beyond the rust satin underlay. The lace on the front bodice has three deep pleats on either side of the center bust with a triangular shaped piece between the bust and the waist seam. The lace flares out into a full skirt below the waist. The dress closes at the proper left with a metal zipper that runs from the underarm to below the hip. The back bodice has two darts on each side running from the shoulder to the waist seam. A layer of tulle is sewn between the lace and the satin from the hip to the hemline to create fullness in the skirt. Sewn into the interior near the zipper is an off-white label with black text reading [STYLED by / ANDORA / NEW YORK].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: early 1950s
• Manufactured by: Andora, American
• Worn by: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959
• Type: dresses
• Medium: lace, tulle, and satin synthetic fiber, metal
• Dimensions: L x W: 49 3/16 × 50 3/8 in. (125 × 128 cm)
• Dimensions: Chest: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist: 14 15/16 in. (38 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2021.59.3.1
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.