Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Visit
  • Exhibitions & Events
  • Art & Design
  • Search

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Introduction

From Paris to Providence

Fashion, Art, and the Tirocchi Dressmakers' Shop
January 12 - April 8, 2001

From 1915 to 1947, Anna and Laura Tirocchi, immigrant sisters from Italy, operated the A. & L. Tirocchi dressmakers’ shop in an historic Victorian mansion on Providence’s Broadway. Across the shop’s doorstep came women from many of the city’s prominent families. They ordered the latest in Paris fashion tailored from the most luxurious imported textiles; either custom-made, in the early days, or more often after 1924, exclusive ready-to-wear. Through the back door came the young women who stitched the clothing: skilled women from the nearby Italian American communities of Federal Hill and Silver Lake.

When you enter the exhibition, you step into the ambience of the Tirocchi shop. As with all the arts, fashion and textile design reflect the aesthetic of their time. The fashions and textiles chosen by the Tirocchi sisters, found in the still-intact shop in 1989, reflect advancing modernism in the art world of the early 20th century. Couturiers and textile designers participated actively in movements from cubism to the International Style, bringing a new and irresistible élan to fashion.

This time capsule of a shop flourished in Providence from 1915 to 1947, when fortunes were being made in the textile, jewelry, machine parts, rubber, and oil industries; when increasing freedom and the right to vote were won by American women and were reflected in new clothing styles; and when two aspiring dressmakers and their young Italian-American employees found fulfillment in bringing high fashion from Paris to Providence.

Selected Objects

French

Length with Fern Leaf Pattern, ca. 1925

After Jean Patou

Sport Suit, ca. 1929

French Probably

Overdress, ca. 1919

F. Ducharne Silk Co., Inc., manufacturer

Length, ca. 1925-1940

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker

Beret, ca. 1934
No Image Available

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker and retailer

Playsuit, ca. 1934

American

Length of Cubist Motif, ca. 1930's

French

Dress, 1930s

Attributed to House of Rodier

Suit, ca. 1926

House of Rodier

Scarf, ca. 1926

House of Rodier

Length, 1924

Lucien Lelong, designer

Coat, ca. 1926

A. & L. Tirocchi

Dress, ca. 1934

French

Textile Border, ca. 1927

A. & L. Tirocchi

Japonist Dress, ca. 1927

Tuck-Wite

Hat, ca. 1934

After Elsa Schiaparelli

Sport Suit, ca. 1930

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker

Dress, ca. 1926

French

Length with Tiger Pelt Motifs, ca. 1925

Lucien Lelong, designer

Dress, ca. 1930

Lucien Lelong

Dress and slip, ca. 1930

French

Dress panel, ca. 1925

Harry Angelo Co., retailer

"Robe", 1926

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker and retailer

Length, 1921
No Image Available

French

Dress, 1929

French

Length with Abstract Pattern of Birds' Wings, ca. 1926

French

Dress panel, ca. 1925

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker and retailer

Black sequined dress with silver diamond detail, ca. 1925

Edward Molyneux

Resort ensemble, 1933

F. Ducharne Silk Co., Inc.

Length with Bouquet Pattern, ca. 1935

F. Ducharne Silk Co., Inc.

Length with Small Flowers, ca. 1930-40

Harry Angelo Co., importer

Opera coat, ca. 1932

Unknown artist

Dress, ca. 1934

William H. Taylor, importer

Lace Length, ca. 1925

Probably American

Length with Ovals, ca. 1927

Harry Angelo Co., importer

Opera Coat, ca. 1930

Probably French

Length with Chinoiserie Motifs, before 1918

Harry Angelo Co., importer

Length with Tulip Pattern, ca. 1925

Vienna Knit Art, manufacturer

Sport suit, ca.1928

A. & L. Tirocchi, retailer

Length, 1929

Probably American

Dress, ca. 1924

A. & L. Tirocchi

Dress, ca. 1925
No Image Available

Maurice Lefranc & cie

"Robe" with North African Motif, 1926
No Image Available

French

"Robe", ca. 1926

A. & L. Tirocchi

Day Dress, ca. 1926

A. & L. Tirocchi, retailer

Robe, 1929

Harry Angelo Co., importer

Textile Length, ca. 1930

French

Length with Pacific Islands Motifs, ca. 1925

French

Length, ca. 1930
No Image Available

John A. Ellis, cabinetmaker

Étagère, ca. 1860

French

Apparel Textile Length, 1915 - 1918

Rosemonde, designer

Dress, 1930

A. & L. Tirocchi, retailer

Evening wrap, ca. 1925

French

Length, ca. 1925

French

Textile Border, ca. 1927

Probably French

Border, ca. 1918

French

Length, ca. 1930

A. & L. Tirocchi, retailer

Dress with Exotic Foliage Design, ca. 1926

French Probably

Pusher Lace Panel, before 1918

A. & L. Tirocchi, manufacturer

Wedding Dress, 1932

Attributed to Paul Poiret

"Persian" coat, ca. 1926

Harry Angelo Co., retailer

"Robe", 1929

The Misses Briganti

Dress, 1932
No Image Available

A. & L. Tirocchi, retailer

Jacket, 1929

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker

Evening dress, ca. 1926

House of Redfern, manufacturer

Dress with Moderne Flower Motif, ca. 1927

French Probably

Skirt Panel, ca. 1914

Unknown artist

Coat, ca. 1926

Possibly A. & L. Tirocchi, maker

Dress, ca. 1920

Unknown artist

Border, ca. 1918

A. & L. Tirocchi, dressmaker and retailer

Playsuit, ca. 1934

French

Length, 1931

French

Length with Red and Green Ribbons, ca. 1926

French

Opera coat, ca. 1930

French

Length, ca. 1920 - 40

Bianchini, Férier, manufacturer

Apparel Fabric, 1926

William H. Taylor, importer

Length with Chinese Motifs, ca. 1925

French

Length, ca. 1920-40

A. & L. Tirocchi, designer

Dress, ca. 1932

Harry Angelo Co., importer

Length, 1931

Probably French

Border, ca. 1925

J. Remond & Cie

Length with Pattern of Swirls and Irregular Shapes, ca. 1926

French

Length with Moderne Rose Motif, ca. 1920

French

Length with Geometric Motif, ca. 1926

French

Length, ca. 1930

French

Length, ca. 1930

Attributed to Paul Poiret, designer

Chemise Dress (Restyled), ca. 1926

French

Length with Pattern of Willows and Rippled Pools, ca. 1930

Unknown artist

Length with Egyptian Motifs, ca. 1922

French

Length, ca. 1930

Probably French

Length, ca. 1920

French

Opera coat, 1931

F. Ducharne Silk Co., Inc.

Length, ca. 1930-40

French

Length with Swirls and "Oriental" Motifs, ca. 1926

Unknown artist

Length, ca. 1930-40

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

From Paris to Providence : Fashion, Art, and the Tirocchi Dressmakers' Shop

January 12 - April 8, 2001
View Checklist PDF

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use