V306: 1920s Beaded Evening Gowns – Old and New

Met, 1927

There are a few things in the world of historical fashionable dress that I am willing to buy, because I know I will never be able to make them myself – shoes, brassieres, and fully-beaded vintage evening gowns.  I’ve been drooling over the gowns in “The House of Eliott,” absolutely comatose with drool, and also despairing of my lack of skill and patience when it comes to beading, sequining, and applying large amounts of sparkly trimmeries.  Gowns like these originals…

Met, 1925

Met, 1925, detail of the gown above.  Isn’t it SPLENDID!?

Met, 1925

Met, ca. 1925

Met, ca. 1925, detail of the gown above.  Ermagherd Sequins!

Whitaker Auctions – seafoam and gold, so very 1920s

Met, 1925-26

Lucky for us, we have so many of these gowns remaining.  They are true works of art, and deserve their places in museum collections.

So where do you lay your hands on a gown like this?  If you were lucky enough to find an original, would you wear it?  I know of a few sites (and I’m sure there are more) that offer some pretty fantabulous beaded gowns, for varying price points, though none of them are cheap.  Here is the one I bought from Unique-Vintage.com:

 …but it was a HARD choice.  Unique-Vintage.com has a very large selection of beaded gown.  Some are more historical that others, and they vary in skirt lengths.  Here are some others that were rocking my socks:

Yummy

Yummy – might have to get this one in the future

Yummy

Also try browsing the 1920s section on Vintage Dancer, and for those ladies of particularly discerning tastes, check out the reproduction gowns at LeLuxe:

“The Vamp” – my favorite, and comes in lots of colors

“The Chevron Tabard,” also in a selection of colors.

“The Duchess” in gold.

I can’t wait until my gown gets here! I’m a little worried that the beauty of it might cause an addiction (ha, no, not worried, but my bank account should be!).  I’m thinking of painting up a pair of 23Skidoos to go with it, maybe with metallic gold and silver leather paints, and perhaps even some bling on the heels.  More on all that later…