Green sequin gown worn by Shirley Verrett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The v-neck dress is made from a light weight and sheer flowy green fabric. There is an elbow length sleeve on the left side while the left side has a single wide shoulder strap. The proper left side also contains a long flowy green scarf that is attached to the dress near the strap. There is a decorative vertical stripe going down the proper left front of the dress. It features depictions of people. The entire dress is decorated with pink, purple, and gold floral and paisley designs in thread and sequins, with the heaviest embellishments at the sleeve cuff, the collar, and the right shoulder. The back of the dress features sequined designs near the shoulders and upper back. The sleeve cuff designs also contain depictions of people. There is a metal hook and eye closure with a green plastic zipper down the back of the dress. The upper back and shoulder designs depict various people in difference scenes. The rest of the back of the dress has pink, purple, and white floral designs and figures. The inside of the dress is lined in a different green fabric.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960-1990
• Designed by: George Peter Stavropoulos, Greek, 1920 - 1990
• Owned by: Shirley Verrett, American, 1931 - 2010
• Type: gowns
• Medium: synthetic fiber, sequin, metallic thread, plastic, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W: 54 × 20 1/2 in. (137.2 × 52.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Opera (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: A2019.88.1.8
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Francesca LoMonaco in memory of Shirley Verrett
• 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: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.