Pair of blue dress socks from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pair of blue and navy blue dress socks from the travel wardrobe trunk used by Cab Calloway. The crew length socks are almost entirely navy blue and feature bands of a lighter blue at the cuff and along the heel, sole, and toes. The legs of the socks are woven with raised vertical stripes over the shin panel, gusset, and foot and with a woven diamond pattern over the sides of the calves. At the cuff is a thick woven band with very thin ribbing and the heels and toes have been reinforced.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th-late 20th century
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Medium: cotton (textile) and synthetic fiber
• Dimensions: H x W x D (A2015.273.1.1.21a): 13 3/4 × 7 15/16 × 7/16 in. (35 × 20.2 × 1.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (A2015.273.1.1.21b): 12 13/16 × 7 3/16 × 7/16 in. (32.5 × 18.2 × 1.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: A2015.273.1.1.21ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• 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.