Explore Black History

2005

Lavender cocktail dress (.1) and crushed velvet coat (.2) by Tracy Reese. Both garments are in the style of silhouettes popular in 1920s flapper culture.
The dress (.1) is sleeveless with a scooped neckline, a dropped waist, and a ruffled mini skirt. It is made from lavender silk chiffon and is heavily embellished with copper colored sequins, brass colored seed beads, and purple and metallic gold woven tape. Lines of these embellishment materials are sewn around the neck opening and on the straps, in three (3) columns on the front bodice and three (3) columns on the back bodice, and in rows around the ruffled skirt. The hemline of the skirt includes one of the embellished rows. In between the rows on the skirt there is a repeating design of half-ovals using these materials, with the upper one facing downward and the lower one facing upward. A dark brown satin ribbon is sewn around the dress at the dropped waist to create a waist band with a pre-tied bow with long tails at the proper left front side. The dress closes at the center back with a zipper and one (1) hook-and-eye. The bodice is lined in light weight silk twill. The skirt has an attached petticoat made from purple tulle. There are no labels.
The coat (.2) is made from lavender crushed velvet with a wrap front, a ruffled collar, and straight full-length sleeves. It falls mid-calf. The front of the coat wraps to close, with the right side crossing over the left side. Each top front side is cut so that a thinner tab of the fabric extends beyond the edge of the full front, with a purple fabric-cover hook at the end. The hook attaches to the loop on the opposite side, the loop on the proper right side is at the interior right shoulder, while the hoop on the proper left side is at the exterior left shoulder underneath the ruffled collar. The collar is formed from a round piece of fabric faced in the velvet and lined on the underside with purple twill fabric. Several circles of the velvet fabric are gathered at the center and stitched to the collar, with the edges also tacked to the collar. The circles grow progressively larger toward the center back of the collar. The coat is fully lined in the same purple twill that is used to line the collar. A fabric label is sewn at the interior center back neck with an embroidered logo of a pale blue silhouette of a chandelier inside a white oval on a pale blue ground, with text in gold over the chandelier reading "Tracy Reese / NEW YORK".

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Ebony Fashion Fair Collection

Clothing - Fashion and Historical

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2015.141.42.1-.2

coats
dresses

No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

dress: silk chiffon, tulle, woven tape, sequins, beads, and satin ribbon;
coat: velvet and twill

H x W (.1 flat): 36 3/4 × 29 in. (93.3 × 73.7 cm)
H x W (.2 flat): 50 × 21 in. (127 × 53.3 cm)

Object Name • Lavender cocktail dress and crushed velvet coat by Tracy Reese

nmaahc_2015.141.42.1-.2

NMAAHC

LAVENDER COCKTAIL DRESS AND CRUSHED VELVET COAT BY TRACY REESE

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

2000s

Reese, Tracy • Johnson Publishing Company • Ebony Fashion Fair

Design • Clothing and dress • Fashion

Dresses (garments) • Coats (garments)

No Known Copyright Restrictions