Costume

Merchant Windsor Bazaar

Marks or LabelsWoven label at inside front bodice: Windsor Bazaar / Montreal / Costumiers Canada

Date 1924

Medium / Technique Silk satin, China silk lining, peacock feathers, rhinestones, lamé headdress, metal hook and eyes

DimensionsA) Pants: 108.4 cm (length); waist: 97.9 cm (circumference) B) Bodice: 45.7 cm (length); bust: 70.8 cm (circumference) CD) Tail feathers: 49.2 cm × 30.8 cm (length × width) E) Hat: 21.6 cm × 24.4 cm × 43.3 cm (length × width × height)

ClassificationPersonal Objects - Clothing - Main Garments

Origin Montreal, Quebec, Canada, North America

Object NumberMMQ1993.07.13AE

DivisionDress, Fashion and Textiles - Fashion, clothing and accessories

CreditGift of Lorna Bethell

NotesExhibition Costume Balls - Dressing Up History, 1870-1927
A Peacock

Worn to the 1924 ball in honour of debutante Anna Cowans, Bessie Molson’s costume illustrates how the conceptual genre evolved with the times. Its materials were all the height of fashion. The trouser silhouette, however, was a daring Eastern-inspired departure from accepted attire for women, reminiscent of the creations of Paul Poiret and illustrator Erté for Poiret’s famous “The Thousand and Second Night” ball of 1911.

Status

Not on view

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