Staff Favorite

Beaded and Jeweled White Chiffon Evening Dress, 1920s

When I first started working here, I was fascinated with the museum’s impressive collection of beaded flapper dress, this one stood out to me.  It is one of the objects that I show on collection tours, not only for its beauty and its good condition, but because it weighs so much. This white chiffon evening dress carries an impressive SEVEN pounds of rhinestones and bugle beads! How this dress has been able to survive 90 years with the weight of those rhinestones and beads not ripping the dress apart is incredible.  It also is one of the two flapper dresses in the collection that has its original headband.