Cocktail dress, sleeveless A-line with black crepe and black chiffon overlay, with a rhinestone collar, 1960s, front view

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Creator

Tee-Ca New York

Date Created

1960s

Subject

Costume; Clothing; Main garments; Dresses

Description

1960s. One-piece black crepe sleeveless A-line knee-length cocktail dress with a black chiffon overlay and a black and white rhinestone standing band collar in the pattern of a Greek key.

The crepe dress is made of three pieces: one front panel with one horizontal dart from each side seam to the top of the bust and two back panels with a center-back seam with a 58.4 cm / 23 in. zipper. The panels are cut to curve in at the waist and out over the hips before narrowing slightly again toward the hem. A crepe standing band collar, 3.8 cm / 1.5 in. high, is completely covered by rhinestone trim with two hooks in back. A trapezoidal overlay of black chiffon with one front panel and two back panels with a center-back seam is sewn into the crepe at the neckline, scyes, and shoulder seams. Its side seams are cut on the diagonal and it drapes in soft folds down the length of the dress, floating freely over the figure-hugging garment beneath and extending slightly past its hem. A quarter-length lining made of the same crepe as the dress acts as a facing for the neckline and scyes and is just 6.4 cm / 2.5 in. long at its side seams.

Professionally made, with one label reading “Tee-Ca New York” and a store label reading “The College Shop, Manchester, N.H.” This dress shop was owned by Christine Recoutes Nassikas Costibos, who emigrated from Greece as a young child in 1909. While she herself was never able to fulfill her desire to further her education, her poignantly-named business and determination helped send her two sons to college. A scholarship for female students in need was established at the University of New Hampshire in her name by her family. Machine-sewn.

Extent

Bust: 91.4 cm / 36 in.
Waist: 76.2 cm / 30 in.
Shoulder: 6.4 cm / 2.5 in.
Hem (dress): 101.6 cm / 40 in.
Hem (overlay): 480.1 cm / 189 in.
Length (dress overall): 90.2 cm / 35.5 in.
Length (overlay at longest drape): 99.1 cm / 39 in.

Provenance

Gift of Christine Nassikas, UNH 1983, in memory of her grandmother, Christine Recoutes Nassikas Costibos. Worn by Christine Costibos.

Museum Number

2014.1.3

Publisher

University of New Hampshire Library

Medium

Crepe, chiffon

Contributor

Astrida Schaeffer, photographer/curator

Date Digitized

6-21-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Comments

The Irma G. Bowen Historic Clothing Collection digital catalog was produced by the UNH Library Digital Collection Initiative, supported in part by a grant from the Mooseplate program and New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the E. Ruth Buxton Stephenson Memorial Fund.
Photography copyright, Astrida Schaeffer.