Unknown artist

This understated ballgown is perhaps misleading in terms of the careful craft and immense time that were required to create it. The cream fabric is a deftly woven slub silk with a repeating floral motif composed in couched gold thread; each flower is completed with three hammered sequins and a glass bead. Lace finishes the bodice and ends in a deep flounce at the hem. The lace was not created using a traditional bobbin or needle technique, but the outline of the motif was painstakingly embroidered using couched metallic-wrapped yarn.

The gown’s donor, Harriet Gervitz-Mnuchin, was frequently dressed by designer Hattie Carnegie. This example is unlabeled, but it was made either in the Carnegie workshop or by a similarly skilled dressmaker.