Silver minidress worn on Soul Train by dancer Cheryl Song: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver lamé and tulle mini dress worn by dancer Cheryl Song on Soul Train in 1980. Designed by Tamechi (Toney) Briggs, the dress features an asymmetric silver lamé material overlaying ruffled skirt made of black tulle with silver polka dots. At each shoulder are two spaghetti straps on either side of a deep ‘V’ neckline, both silver lamé, with a single, sheer layer of the black tulle at the center of the ‘V.’ The back of the dress has a hidden cotton and metal zipper.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1980
• Created by: Tamechi (Toney) Briggs, American
• Worn by: Cheryl Song, American
• Subject of: Soul Train, American, 1971 - 2006
• Type: dresses
• Medium: lamé, tulle, cotton, plastic and metal
• Dimensions: Waist: 8 11/16 in. (22 cm)
• Dimensions: Chest: 13 3/4 in. (35 cm)
• Dimensions: L x W: 32 3/8 × 13 3/4 in. (82.3 × 35 cm)
• Place used: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: LGBTQ
• Topic: Music
• Object number: 2020.41.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cheryl Song
• 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.