Silver silk feathered gown worn by Shirley Verrett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The off-the-shoulder silver dress is embellished with long, thin black and white striped feathers on the shoulders and around the back of the neckline. At center of the neckline is a beaded circular pattern design composed of small clear and silver beads, clear rhinestones with metal settings, white round beads, and clear cylindrical beads.. The body of the dress consists of several layers of silver silk. There is a zipper down the back of the dress. On the inside of the dress along the zipper there is a rectangular white label with black text that reads [STAVROPOULOS / NEW YORK ATHENS].

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: silk, feathers, thread, and beads
• Dimensions: H x W (width at shoulder feathers): 57 × 21 in. (144.8 × 53.3 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: A2019.88.1.3
• 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: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.