Costume jacket for Addaperle in The Wiz on Broadway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This teal and silver jacket is part of a costume worn by Clarice Taylor as Addaperle in "The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical 'Wizard of Oz'" on Broadway. The long sleeve jacket is made from a synthetic teal fiber with supplemental warps that form a satin stripe. The hemline of the jacket is straight in front, tapering to a longer length in the back, where it comes to a point at the center back. There are several patches of fabric machine sewn in a random pattern to the teal ground using a zigzag stitch. The patches are made of dark blue and dark teal velvet and light green and medium green satin. The cuffs of the jacket are made of a solid teal synthic fiber and close with a snap. Blue and silver rhinestones are stitched at random all over the jacket and cuffs, sometimes with the rhinestones sewn over the patches. Additionally, small silver rhinestone studs are attached to the body of the jacket. A silver sequin star is sewn on the outer side of the proper left cuff and on the left sleeve, but there are no stars on the right sleeve. Five (5) silver sequin stars are sewn on the front sides of the jacket and three (3) stars are on the back of the jacket. The jacket closes at the center front neck with a hook-and-eye closure.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1975
• Designed by: Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian American, 1930 - 2014
• Worn by: Clarice Taylor, American, 1917 - 2011
• Created by: Grace Costumes Inc., American, founded 1961
• Subject of: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
• Type: jackets
• Medium: synthetic fiber, satin, velvet, sequins, rhinestones, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (On form): 28 1/2 × 22 3/4 × 14 in. (72.4 × 57.8 × 35.6 cm)
• Place used: New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2007.3.10.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
• 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.