Evening gown, Unknown maker, ca. 1953. Gift of Mrs. Sidney J. Besthoff, Jr., Worn by the donor to her daughter's wedding. Louisiana State Museums 1982.131.06a-d.
Evening gown
Unknown maker, ca. 1953
Gift of Mrs. Sidney J. Besthoff, Jr.
Worn by the donor to her daughter's wedding
Louisiana State Museums 1982.131.06a-d

This gown has all the elements of the "New Look" popularized by renowned French designer Christian Dior. This new style initially evoked some resistance from women because the extravagant use of fabric made it relatively costly. Dior's design house was financed by Marcel Boussac, a major French textile manufacturer, which likely had some effect on the amount of material Dior used in his gowns. Their partnership aided the postwar recovery of haute couture and textile manufacturing. The silhouette was achieved with fitted, boned foundations under the strapless bodice and stiffened petticoats under the full knife-pleated skirt.
Sketch for Christian Dior evening gown, Spring/Summer 1954. Louisiana State Museums T0354.1998.2.
Sketch for Christian Dior evening gown
Spring/Summer 1954
Louisiana State Museums T0354.1998.2
Sketch for Jean Dessès evening gown, ca. 1954. Louisiana State Museums T0106.1998.2.
Sketch for Jean Dessès evening gown, ca. 1954
Louisiana State Museums T0106.1998.2
Evening gown, Cristóbal Balenciaga, ca. 1958. Gift of Miss Anne Strachan, Worn by the donor's mother, Mrs. Frank G. Strachan, née Rose Forsyth. Louisiana State Museums 1977.059.2.
Evening gown
Cristóbal Balenciaga, ca. 1958
Gift of Miss Anne Strachan
Worn by the donor's mother, Mrs. Frank G. Strachan, née Rose Forsyth
Louisiana State Museums 1977.059.2

Cristóbal Balenciaga was born in Guetaria, Spain in 1895. He moved to Paris during the Spanish Civil War and opened his couture house in 1937. For the next thirty-one years, Balenciaga was hailed as a master of technique and one of the premier arbiters of fashion. In 1957 he began focusing attention on the legs, with gowns such as this one, cut high in front and sweeping the floor in back. In addition to black and white and vibrant colors, he frequently used this pale aquamarine.

This gown demonstrates some of the hallmarks of Balenciaga's 1950s styling, with its dramatic "mile wide" skirt buttressed by a complex architectural support structure underneath.
Sketch for Jeanne Lanvin evening gown, Spring 1954. Louisiana State Museums T0102.1998.2.
Sketch for Jeanne Lanvin evening gown, Spring 1954
Louisiana State Museums T0102.1998.2

The Modern Century, 1946–1964

Evening Wear in Louisiana, 1896–1996

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Christian Dior's "New Look" of the full skirt and cinched waist, introduced in 1947, dominated the 1950s. The designs reflected women's return to the role of wife and homemaker after having done "men's work" in industries and jobs during the war. According to Dior, he aimed to counteract the wartime style in which "women looked and dressed like Amazons." Instead, he envisioned "flower-like women" in "clothes with rounded shoulders, full feminine busts and willowy waists above enormous spreading skirts." Of course, women who followed this style did not necessarily endorse Dior's definition of femininity. Moreover, while popular culture idealized women's domesticity, rising numbers of women began to work outside the home. Beneath the seemingly tranquil 1950s bubbled a social revolution that erupted in the next decade.

The New Look

The New Look commonly attributed to Christian Dior was actually generated by a number of designers. The silhouette was curvaceous and reminiscent of Victorian styles with its soft shoulders, fitted bodice, tiny waist, and full skirts supported by crinolines. Long, glamorous gowns were topped with sequins, feathers, or fur. The shape, though restrictive in comparison to earlier clothing styles of the twentieth century, remained popular for more than a decade.

In the mid-1950s and the early 1960s an easier, straighter, form—the shift—became popular. Cristóbal Balenciaga, the influential Spanish designer operating out of Paris, departed from the hourglass shape, introducing looser, geometric designs. Hubert de Givenchy popularized the chemise, or sack dress, in 1957. This design later incorporated the innovative lines of Mary Quant and others.

Mass production methods created a much wider gap between ready-to-wear clothing and couture creations. Distinct innovative design elements were introduced by couturiers each season, making the past year's styles passé. Many of these features were quickly adopted by manufacturers who targeted the general public, but high fashion continued to be accessible only to the very wealthy. Designers began to expand their market and to target a more youthful clientele.

 

Debutante dress, Dowty, New Orleans, 1947. Gift of Mrs. Ashton Fischer and Mrs. Amie F. Paul, Worn by Mrs. Ashton Fischer, née Elizabeth Nicholson. Louisiana State Museums 1983.129.3. Tailcoat and trousers, Varsity Town, manufacturer, Walsh & Levy, Baton Rouge, retailer, ca. 1946. Gift of Mrs. Sue Turner, Worn by Louis C. Wilbert, the donor's brother. Louisiana State Museums 1994.022.1a-b.
Debutante dress
Dowty, New Orleans, 1947
Gift of Mrs. Ashton Fischer and Mrs. Amie F. Paul
Worn by Mrs. Ashton Fischer, née Elizabeth Nicholson
Louisiana State Museums 1983.129.3

Made by a popular New Orleans dressmaker, this velvet and tulle debutante gown is an example of the "New Look" with its narrow waist and full skirt. It may also reflect the popularity of gowns inspired by Scarlett O'Hara's wardrobe from the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.

The debutante tradition in New Orleans began in the mid-nineteenth century. The season in which a young woman is presented to society begins in the autumn and culminates during Carnival. Queens of the affluent old-line Carnival krewes are debutantes. Today women are generally presented in their late college years.

Tailcoat and trousers
Varsity Town, manufacturer
Walsh & Levy, Baton Rouge, retailer, ca. 1946
Gift of Mrs. Sue Turner
Worn by Louis C. Wilbert, the donor's brother
Louisiana State Museums 1994.022.1a-b
Debutante gown (left), Unknown maker, 1936. Gift of Mrs. William B. Dreux, née Nancy Reeves, Worn by the donor. Louisiana State Museums 1983.007.1a-c. Debutante gown (right), Philip Hulitar, 1959. Gift of Mrs. George W. Mayer, Worn by Susan Mayer, the donor's daughter. Louisiana State Museums 1966.024.19G.
Debutante gown (left)
Unknown maker, 1936
Gift of Mrs. William B. Dreux, née Nancy Reeves
Worn by the donor
Louisiana State Museums 1983.007.1a-c

Backless gowns, made popular by Hollywood films, were the height of fashion in the mid-1930s. They were particularly favored by those who participated in the new sunbathing trend. The donor, née Nancy Reeves, wore this gown when she was presented as a Maid of Honor in the court of the Krewe of Athenians.

Debutante gown (right)
Philip Hulitar, 1959
Gift of Mrs. George W. Mayer
Worn by Susan Mayer, the donor's daughter
Louisiana State Museums 1966.024.19G

The donor's daughter wore this gown when she was presented as a "subdeb" at the Krewe of Apollo ball in 1959 and again two years later when she made her formal debut at the Pickwick Club in 1961. She was so fond of the style that she had it copied for her wedding dress. The shaped waist and voluminous skirt supported by stiffened petticoats continued to be popular through the beginning of the 1960s.


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Evening Wear in Louisiana, 1896–1996
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The Belle Epoque, 1896–1919

The Belle Epoque, 1895–1919

The Jazz Age, 1920–1930

The Jazz Age, 1920–1930

Hollywood Goes to War, 1930–1946

Hollywood Goes to War, 1930–1946

The Modern Century, 1946–1964

The Modern Century, 1946–1964

Anything Goes

Anything Goes

Power and Opulence, 1980–1996

Power and Opulence, 1980–1996