Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
May 8, 1983
By Geraldine Withrow
Vigo County Historical Society
Tangerine silk dress was hand decorated
This evening dress from the collection of the museum was donated by Mrs. Ray Greene and O.K. Owen Sr.
The dress of tangerine silk is a fine example of the beaded party dresses of the mid to late 1920s. It consists of a net overlay and beading over a crepe underskirt. It is hand decorated with red sets, smoke sequins, and pearl and gold beads in an abstract design.
Dresses by 1927 were straight and tubular. The hemline had risen to just over the knee whether for day or evening.
This dress conjures up visions of the “flapper” of the “Roaring Twenties.” The dress might be worn with long dangling earrings and a rope necklace of glass beads. There might be as many as six bangle-bracelets on one arm with a wrist watch on the other.
According to Robert Silbie, who wrote “Anatomy of Costume,” if a cloche hat was worn it would be gold or silver lame for evening. The hat, or maybe a head band, would be decorated with a brooch or feathers that resembled a miniature duster..
The ladies’ hair would have the shingle cut and to achieve the deep waves it would have been “marcelled.”
Cosmetics were being used. Oxblood was the favorite color for lipstick and nails might even be varnished in the same color.
The woman might have her engraved vanity case swinging from her arm. The case had compartments for each of the woman’s cosmetics. Or she might have her compact in a small silk or metal mesh handbag.
The shoes to complete this ensemble would be soft silk pumps with a strap across the instep.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.