Costume History: Analyzing a Dior Ball Gown and its Context

This report provides an in-depth analysis of a ball gown, a commercial copy of Dior's "Venus," worn by Debutante Marvis Powell in 1949. It delves into the history of ball gowns, their association with formal dances and elite society, and the significance of the materials and construction techniques used. The report highlights the gown's connection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, its authorized commercial production by Nanty, and the intricate details of its sequins and embroidery. The author expresses a personal appreciation for the gown's artistry and its representation of the elite fashion of the late 1940s, emphasizing its antique value and potential for inspiring contemporary designs. The report references sources from The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dior's official website to support its historical and contextual claims.

Running head: HISTORY OF COSTUME
HISTORY OF COSTUME
NAME OF THE STUDENT:
NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY:
AUTHOR NOTE:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
The item selected for the present report is a ball gown that is a commercial copy of
“Venus” by Dior and was sold by Levy’s . Debutante Marvis Powell in her Debutante ball wore
this gown in 1949 after being gifted with the same by her parents. Ball dresses are ones designed
to be worn in a formal dance and are the most extravagant gowns falling under the evening dress
category.
Discussion
The primary reason of wearing a ball gown was to augment the femininity of the women
and thereby dazzle the viewers. Ball gowns can be easily distinguished from other dresses
because their flamboyant visuals with designed layers, sequins, puffs, swags, artificial flowers,
rosettes ribbon etc. These dresses have existed since the middle ages among the elite and royal
class of people. However, in the 1800s the royal balls re-emerged and the concept of debutante
balls became standard, in order to introduce young people of marriageable age to each other.
Increase in popularity of these gowns increased along with that of royal balls1.
The gown of concern in the present essay dates back to 1949 and was worn by Miss
Marvis Powell in her debutante ball. The mentioned gown is kept on display in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art mentioning its date. This particular item was an authorized commercial copy of
“Venus” designed by Dior by a high-end American company named “Nanty”, who manufactured
copies of London and Paris couture and sold by Levy’s. Charles Rendigs purchased the design
and in the fall of 1949, the designer of the company was Charles James. The garment is made of
Silk tulle, sequins and palliates embroidery. These sequins are the famous iridescent feather
1 'Dior' (Dior.com, 2018) <https://www.dior.com/couture/en_us/the-house-of-dior> accessed 22 February 2018

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sequins that were manufactured by Lecoq et Riou, the mould of which are lost now. The
embroidery has ten different sequins and beads, which include the feather rhinestone sequins in
variety of setting of eight different varieties. Maison Rebe designed the embroidery.
These designs were usually made for women belonging to the royal families since the
1800, later on around mid 1900s, these were designed in London and Paris and other high end
companies made commercially authorized copies. Women of rich families usually wore this kind
of clothing to formal balls. There was no age bar for wearing ball gowns and these clothing
exhibited the status of the women wearing it2.
The basic definition of a ball gown is that these are extravagant gowns that were worn for
formal dance events. However, there were numerous and intricate conventions relating to the
appropriateness of wearing ball gowns. These clothing items are very extravagant and distinctly
stand out from the category of evening dresses. These gowns usually had bared arms, a bodice
that was fairly constricted, low décolletage and long and puffy skirts with lots of layers. Ball
gowns permitted women to take up more space, as the expansive and billowing skirt acted as
extensions to the original dimensions of the women’s bodies. Undergarments have played a
major role in reshaping body structures into the required silhouettes for extravagant clothing
such as these. Corsets and petticoats from the 19th century were common under garments worn
under such gowns.
There have been balls for numerous centuries among the royal and socially elite families
right from the middle ages; people with similar elite backgrounds were brought together through
the help of these balls. Ball-gowns were especially designed for such formal events.
Extravagance of the clothing exhibited higher social positions. The item selected for the present
2 Authors: Beth Duncuff Charleston H, 'Christian Dior (1905–1957) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline Of Art History |
The Metropolitan Museum Of Art' (The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2018)
<https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dior/hd_dior.htm> accessed 22 February 2018

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essay is the “Venus” ball gown designed by Venus and the fact that, this dress was gifted to
Marvis Powel as a coming out gift from her parents for her Debutante ball, suggests that they
belonged to the higher strata of the society and were fairly influential. People buying such an
item in the present day would suggest that they are fond of Dior’s work from the50s and that
they are influential as well because these are antique piece of clothing and would be of a high
price range.
Conclusion
I personally like this outfit because of the sequins and the embroidery; they are beautiful
and are a rare work of art. I would love to be able to recreate such a look in order to bring back
the essence of the elite class of the late 1940s. I would love to own such a piece because of its
antique value and to learn about the traditional embroidery patterns for extravagant eveningwear
to be able to revolutionize the present day designs.

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Reference
Authors: Beth Duncuff Charleston H, 'Christian Dior (1905–1957) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline
Of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum Of Art' (The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art
History, 2018) <https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dior/hd_dior.htm> accessed 22 February
2018
'Dior' (Dior.com, 2018) <https://www.dior.com/couture/en_us/the-house-of-dior> accessed 22
February 2018

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Appendix

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